Ge Xuan[a] (164–244), courtesy name Xiaoxian, was a Chinese Taoist practitioner who lived during the eastern Han dynasty (25–220) and Three Kingdoms periods (220–280).

He was the ancestor of Ge Hong and a resident of Danyang Commandery in the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period.

During his early childhood, Ge Xuan was an inquisitive student and read the Confucian classics and commentaries and other philosophical and historical records.

[1][better source needed] Ge Xuan's parents died when he was 16 years old, beginning his obsession with studying the Dao and how life works.

He visited noteworthy people, ate Ganoderma lucidum (a type of mushroom), setose thistle (Cirsium setosum)[b], ("服饵芝术", Fu Er Zhi Zhu) and practiced self-cultivation.

[2][better source needed][3] When he encountered the legendary Zuo Ci, Ge Xuan obtained mythological scriptures such as the Immortals' Book of Liquefied Gold of the Nine Elixirs.

When he received this book, Ge Xuan began fasting and followed the commandments laid down by the Ultimate.

His subservience enabled him to meander through mountains and over seas, and his ling (靈) helped him conduct exorcisms and heal the sick.

Ge Xuan's descendants gave him the title of "Transcendent Duke of the Left of the Great Ultimate" (Taiji Zuo Xian Gong) because of his beliefs.

A number of legends are part of Ge Xuan's hagiography, the most common of which concern his supernatural gifts.

Ge Xuan wrote that desires make individuals selfish and dishonest; the mind creates illusions, which cause suffering.