Back Laozi Afrikaans Laozi ALS ላው ድዙ Amharic Lao Tse AN लाओ-त्सू ANP لاوتزه Arabic لاوتزه ARZ Laozi AST लाओ जू AWA Lao Tzu Aymara
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 Portrait by Zhang Lu (15th- or 16th-century painting) | |
| Born | trad. 6th century BC, sometimes dated 4th century BC |
| Died | trad. 5th century BC |
| Notable work | Tao Te Ching |
| Era | Ancient philosophy |
| Region | Chinese philosophy |
| School | Taoism |
Notable ideas | |
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Laozi (/ˈlaʊdzə/), also romanized as Lao Tzu among other ways, was a semi-legendary Chinese philosopher and author of the Tao Te Ching (Laozi), one of the foundational texts of Taoism alongside the Zhuangzi. The name, literally meaning 'Old Master', was likely intended to portray an archaic anonymity that could converse with Confucianism. Modern scholarship generally regards his biographical details as later inventions, and his opus a collaboration. Traditional accounts addend him as Li Er, born in the 6th-century BC state of Chu during China's Spring and Autumn period (c. 770 – c. 481 BC). Serving as the royal archivist for the Zhou court at Wangcheng (modern Luoyang), he met and impressed Confucius (c. 551 – c. 479 BC) on one occasion, composing the Tao Te Ching in a single session before retiring into the western wilderness.
A central figure in Chinese culture, Laozi is generally considered the founder of Taoism. He was claimed and revered as the ancestor of the Tang dynasty (618–907) and is similarly honored in modern China as the progenitor of the popular surname Li. In some sects of Taoism, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, and Chinese folk religion, it is held that he then became an immortal hermit.[2] Certain Taoist devotees held that the Tao Te Ching was the avatar – embodied as a book – of the god Laojun, one of the Three Pure Ones of the Taoist pantheon, though few philosophers believe this.[3]
The Tao Te Ching had a profound influence on Chinese religious movements and on subsequent Chinese philosophers, who annotated, commended, and criticized the texts extensively. In the 20th century, textual criticism by historians led to theories questioning Laozi's timing or even existence, positing that the received text of the Tao Te Ching was not composed until the Warring States period (c. 475 – 221 BC), and was the product of multiple authors.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
baxsagwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Wright, Edmund, ed. (2006), The Desk Encyclopedia of World History, New York: Oxford University Press, p. 365, ISBN 978-0-7394-7809-7
- ^ Goldin, Paul R., The Art of Chinese Philosophy: Eight Classical Texts and How to Read Them, Princeton University Press, p. 110, doi:10.1515/9780691200811-008, ISBN 9780691200811, S2CID 242423709