Ge Hong


Ge Hong was an Eastern Jin Dynasty scholar, and the author of Essays on Chinese Characters. He is the originator of First Aid in TCM and influenced later generations.
Ge Hong was born as the third son into a well-established family, his father died when he was 13. He was often asked to appraise his friends and acquittance as possible candidates for government office positions and was also chosen to perform military service. However he was unhappy with his life as an official. Although he never rejected the Confucianism, he grew interested in Daoist philosophy and using drugs so he could achieve the spiritual freedoms of an immortal. He wrote an autobiography of his life that was the last part of his collected writings
His grandfather served as Minister of Personnel and his father as governor. By Ge Hong's time, although the family was declining, he was once made Marquis of the area within the past relying on his meritorious military service.