Ge Hong
Several early sources confirm that Ge Hong wrote the "Shenxian Zhuan". The (ca. 429) "Sanguozhi" commentary by Pei Songzhi (372-451) quotes the "Shenxian Zhuan" and notes "what was recorded by Ge Hong came close to deluding the masses. But as his writings are so widely circulated, I have selected a few of the events." Liu Xiujing 陸修靜's (437) "List of Lingbao texts" states that Ge Hong "selected and compiled" the "Shenxian Zhuan". The "Shui Jing Zhu" "Commentary on the Waterways Classic" by Li Daoyuan (d. 527) also attributes the "Shenxian Zhuan" to Ge. The (6th century) biography of the Shangqing School patriarch Tao Hongjing (456-536) says he "obtained Ge Hong's "Shenxian Zhuan" and studied it day and night and so mastered its ideas on nourishing life." Campany concludes,