Zeng Yong (曾勇), A Study of the Life Values of Ge Hong and Ge Changgeng (葛洪, 葛長庚入生價值觀研究). Beijing: People’s Publishing House, 2021, 616 pp. ISBN: 978-7-01-022728-3, ¥ 138 (pbk)

Professor Zeng Yong’s A Study of Life Values of Ge Hong and Ge Changgeng is another masterpiece launched by the New Knowledge Library of National Studies. This book is the first academic work in China to study the philosophy of life values of Taoism in a more systematic way. It was published and distributed by People’s Publishing House in 2021. Its book number is ISBN:978-7-01-022728-3, with a total of 600,000 words, and 616 pages.

The author uses the methods of documentary evidence, the combination of history and theory, comparative analysis, etc., closely following the literature, organic combination of point, surface and body, in-depth excavation, combing the life values of the two high Taoists, outlining and constructing the philosophical system of Taoist life values. The book consists of “Introduction”, “Conclusion”, and the first and second chapters of the text, with ten chapters. The author takes the Taoist culture of the two historical periods of the Two Jin Dynasties and the Southern Song Dynasty as the background and focuses on two representative Taoists, Ge Hong in the Two Jin Dynasties and Ge Changgeng (Bai Yuchan) in the Southern Song Dynasty. Through the case studies of Taoist figures, the author examines and interprets their life value meanings, life value ideals and life value practices, enters the life world and ideal realm of body cultivation, and reveals their life values in body cultivation. The study will examine and interpret the meaning of their life values, life value ideals and life value practices, enter into the world of life and ideal world of cultivation, reveal the fundamental significance of their life values in the cultivation of body and practice and the characteristics of Taoism, and then summarize the core content of Taoist life values and refine the basic characteristics of Taoist life values. The “Introduction” section lays the foundation for the whole book, and the “Conclusion” section summarizes and sublimates it so that it is coherent and integrated with each other.

The core contents of Taoist life values are summarized in Zeng’s book as follows: the code of life of “respecting the Way” and “valuing virtue”, the way of life of “cherishing life” and “embracing simplicity”. The core elements of Taoist life values are summarized in Zeng’s book as follows: the life principle of “respecting the Way” and “valuing virtue”, the lifestyle of “cherishing life” and “embracing simplicity”, the ethical orientation of “promoting goodness” and “shangan”（尚安）, and the ultimate ideal of “attaining immortality”. The basic characteristics of Taoist life values are summarized as follows: the unity of life in which “Tao” leads to “three views”, the self-purpose of “persuading goodness to become immortal”, and the transcendence of eternal life in which life is refined at the same time; the immortality of immortality, the dream of value generation, and the thought of ethical implications in three aspects. The author explains Taoism’s dream of immortality and its life implications from three aspects: the immortality of longevity, the dream of value generation, and the thought of ethical implications. By analyzing the life values of Ge Hong and Ge Changgeng, the author puts forward the view that “Taoism takes Tao as the essence, life as the carrier, and life and Tao as the value convergence”, which should be considered a fair and impartial argument.

The author’s distinctive viewpoints, extensive quotations, and well-researched arguments, combined with life perceptions, create a Taoist philosophy of life value monograph. This book is novel in perspective, detailed in content, clear in thought, profound in theory, and mature in research techniques. This book is an exemplary work of the modern transformation of Chinese traditional culture (Taoism) with its reasonable layout and structure!