I Decide My Own Fate: The Legend of Ge Hong

“My fate is mine to command, not Heaven’s!” Inside a movie theater, light and shadow flicker across the enormous screen as Ne Zha 2 reaches its gripping climax. The protagonist, Ne Zha, wears a flaming lotus battle suit, and the Qiankun Ring on his forehead glows with a mysterious light. His once-clear eyes are now filled with burning battle spirit and an unyielding flame. He clenches his teeth, his cheeks tensing with the effort, his bronze face resolute and determined. His tousled hair whips wildly in the gale, like that of an untamed beast. With a roar that shakes Heaven and Earth, the line bursts from his chest, as if to shatter the shackles of fate. Who first said, “My fate is mine to command, not Heaven’s”? It certainly wasn’t Ne Zha! The same line appears in Tai Chi Master as well. This book tells the story of Ge Hong, the Eastern Jin Daoist master who first uttered those words. His life was truly legendary. A scholar and warrior, he fought on the battlefield and was named General Who Subdues the Waves and Marquis of Guannei. He was well versed in Confucianism and was also an alchemist, physician, and scientist…