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{{Taoism}}
'''Laozi''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|au|d|z|ə}}, {{lang-zh|{{linktext|老子}}}}),
A central figure in [[Chinese culture]], Laozi is generally considered the founder of Taoism. He was claimed and [[ancestor veneration in China|revered]] as the ancestor of the 7th{{ndash}}10th century [[Tang dynasty]] and is similarly honored in modern China as the progenitor of the popular [[Li (surname 李)|surname Li]]. In some sects of Taoism, [[Chinese Buddhism]], [[Confucianism]], and [[Chinese folk religion]], it is held that he then became an [[Taoist immortal|immortal]] [[hermit]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Desk Encyclopedia of World History |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7394-7809-7 |editor-last=Wright |editor-first=Edmund |location=New York |pages=365}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Goldin |first=Paul R. |title=The Art of Chinese Philosophy: Eight Classical Texts and How to Read Them |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=9780691200811 |page=110 |doi=10.1515/9780691200811-008 |s2cid=242423709}}</ref> The ''Tao Te Ching'' had a profound influence on [[religion in China|Chinese religious movements]] and on subsequent Chinese philosophers, who annotated, commended, and criticized the texts extensively. In the 20th century, [[textual criticism]] by [[Chinese historiography|modern 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 4th century{{nbsp}}BC [[Warring States period]], and was the product of multiple authors.
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Laozi {{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|au|d|z|ə}} is the modern pinyin [[romanization of Chinese|romanization]] of {{lang|zh|{{linktext|老子}}}}. It is not a personal name, but rather an [[Chinese honorifics|honorific title]], meaning 'old' or 'venerable'. Its structure matches that of other ancient Chinese philosophers, such as [[Kongzi]], [[Mencius|Mengzi]], and [[Zhuang Zhou|Zhuangzi]].<ref>{{citation |contribution=The "Ancient Child" Fallacy |date=29 December 2016 |last=Lin |first=Derek |contribution-url=https://taoism.net/ancient-child/ |url=https://taoism.net |title=Taoism.net |publisher= |location= }}</ref>
Traditional accounts give Laozi the personal name '''Li Er''' ({{lang|zh|{{linktext|李|耳}}}}, ''Lǐ Ěr''), whose [[Old Chinese]] pronunciation [[reconstruction of Old Chinese|has been reconstructed]] as {{transl|och|*C.rəʔ C.nəʔ}}.<ref name=baxsag>{{cite web |last1=Baxter |first1=William |first2=Laurent |last2=Sagart |url=http://ocbaxtersagart.lsait.lsa.umich.edu/BaxterSagartOCbyMandarinMC2014-09-20.pdf |title=Baxter–Sagart Old Chinese Reconstruction |date=20 September 2014 |access-date=1 May 2018}}</ref> [[Li (surname 李)|Li]] is a common [[Chinese surname]] which also has the meaning meaning '[[plum]]' or plum tree when used as a common noun; there is a legend tying Laozi's birth to a plum tree.<ref>{{Cite web <!-- Citation bot no -->|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Laozi|title=Laozi |work= Britannica|date= 2009 |last1= Ames |first1= Roger T. |last2= Kaltenmark |first2= Max | author1-link= Roger T. Ames }}</ref> Laozi has long been identified with the persona '''Lao Dan''' ({{lang|zh|老{{linktext|聃}}}}, ''Lǎo Dān'').{{sfnp|Luo|2004|p=118}}{{sfnp|Kramer|1986|p=118}}{{sfnp|Chan|2000|p=2}} ''Dan'' similarly means "Long-Ear" or "the Long-Eared One". The character {{lang|zh|{{linktext|耳}}}} is the Chinese word for 'ear'.<ref>{{Cite web | script-work= zh:Zdic 漢典 |url= https://www.zdic.net/hant/%E8%80%B3 | script-title=zh:耳字 }}</ref>
Laozi is recorded bearing the [[courtesy name]] '''Boyang''' ({{lang|zh|{{linktext|伯|陽}}}}, ''Bóyáng''), whose Old Chinese pronunciation has been reconstructed as {{transl|och|*pˤrak laŋ}}.<ref name=baxsag/> The character {{lang|zh|伯}} was the title of the eldest son born to the primary wife, or an uncle of the father's family who was older than one's father, also used as a [[Zhou dynasty nobility|noble title]] indicating an aristocratic lineage head with rulership over a small to medium domain, and as a general mark of respect. The character {{lang|zh|陽}} is ''[[yang (concept)|yang]]'', the solar and masculine life force in Taoist belief. Lao Dan seems to have been used more generally, however, including by [[Sima Qian]] in his ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'',<ref name="LDR">{{citation |last1=Rainey |first1=Lee Dian |title=Decoding Dao: Reading the ''Dao De Jing'' (''Tao Te Ching'') and the ''Zhuangzi'' (''Chuang Tzu'') |date=2013 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1118465677 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=YNFiAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT31 31] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YNFiAgAAQBAJ |language=en }}.</ref> in the ''[[Zhuangzi (book)|Zhuangzi]]'',<ref name="LDR"/> and by some modern scholars.<ref>{{cite book | author-last= Fu | author-first= Charles Wei-hsun |editor-last1=Carr |editor-first1=Brian |editor-last2=Mahalingam |editor-first2=Indira |chapter= Daoism in Chinese Philosophy |title=Companion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1134960583 |pages=497–519|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xIwrBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA497 |language=en }}</ref>
== Identity ==
By the mid-twentieth century, consensus had emerged among Western scholars that the [[historicity]] of a person known as Laozi is doubtful and that the ''Tao Te Ching'' is "a compilation of Taoist sayings by many hands",{{sfnp|Watson|1968|p=8}}<ref name=Kohn4>{{Harvp|Chan|2000|p=4}}</ref> with an author being invented afterwards.{{sfnp|Lewis|1999|p=61}} The book's conspicuous absence of a central Master figure place it in marked contrast with nearly all other early Chinese philosophical works.{{sfnp|Denecke|2011|pp=208, 212–213}}{{sfnp|Lewis|1999|p=91}}
{{Asof|2023}}, the oldest
=== Traditional accounts ===
The earliest biographical reference to Laozi is found in the 1st‑century BC ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'' by [[Sima Qian]]. Multiple accounts of Laozi's biography are presented, with Sima Qian expressing various levels of doubt in his sources.{{sfnp|Kern|2015|pp=349–350}}
In one account, Sima Qian reports that Laozi was said to be a contemporary of Confucius during the 6th or 5th century{{nbsp}}BC. His personal name was Er or Dan. He was born in the village of Quren ({{lang|zh|曲仁里}}, ''Qūrén lǐ'') in the southern [[state of Chu]],<ref>{{Cite book| author1= Sima Qian | author1-link= Sima Qian| author2= Sima Tan| author2-link= Sima Tan| script-title=zh:史記| title = Records of the Grand Historian| orig-year= 90s BCE| year = 1959 | publisher= Zhonghua Shuju| chapter=[[:zh:s:史記/卷063#老子|Vol. 63: 老子韓非列傳]] | language= zh| ref={{sfnref|Shiji}}
}}</ref> within present-day [[Luyi]] in [[Henan]].{{sfnp|Morgan|2001}} He was said to be the son of the Censor-in-Chief of the [[Zhou dynasty]] and Lady Yishou ({{lang|zh|益壽氏}}), and was a scholar who worked as the Keeper of the Archives for the royal Zhou court. This reportedly allowed him broad access to the works of the [[Yellow Emperor]] and other classics of the time, and wrote a book in two parts before departing to the west.
In another, Laozi was a different contemporary of Confucius called {{ill|Lao Laizi|zh|老莱子}} ({{lang|zh|老莱子}}), one of [[the Twenty-four Filial Exemplars]], and wrote a book in 15 parts. The story tells of Zong the Warrior who defeats an enemy and triumphs, and then abandons the corpses of the enemy soldiers to be eaten by vultures. By coincidence Laozi, traveling and teaching the way of the Tao, comes on the scene and is revealed to be the father of Zong, from whom he was separated in childhood. Laozi tells his son that it is better to treat respectfully a beaten enemy, and that the disrespect to their dead would cause his foes to seek revenge. Convinced, Zong orders his soldiers to bury the enemy dead. Funeral mourning is held for the dead of both parties and a lasting peace is made.
In a third, he was the court astrologer Lao Dan who lived during the 4th century{{nbsp}}BC reign of the [[Duke Xian of Qin (424–362 BC)|Duke Xian of Qin]]{{sfnp|Fowler|2005|p=96}}{{sfnp|Robinet|1997|p=26}} who grew weary of the moral decay of life in [[Chengzhou]] and noted the kingdom's decline. He ventured west to live as a hermit in the unsettled frontier at the age of 80. At the western gate of the city (or kingdom), he was recognized by the guard [[Yinxi]]. The sentry asked the old master to record his wisdom for the good of the country before he would be permitted to pass. The text Laozi wrote was said to be the ''Tao Te Ching'', although the present version of the text includes additions from later periods. In some versions of the tale, the sentry was so touched by the work that he became a disciple and left with Laozi, never to be seen again.{{sfnp|Kohn|Lafargue|1998|pp=14, 17, 54–55}} In some later interpretations, the "Old Master" journeyed all the way to India and was the teacher of Siddartha Gautama, [[the Buddha]]. Others say he was the Buddha himself.<ref name="Simpkins 1999 pp 12-13"/>{{sfnp|Morgan|2001|pp=224–225}}
The stories assert that Laozi never opened a formal school but nonetheless attracted a large number of students and loyal disciples. There are many variations of a story retelling his encounter with Confucius, most famously in the ''Zhuangzi''.<ref name="Simpkins 1999 pp 12-13">{{Harvp|Simpkins|Simpkins|1999|pp=12–13}}</ref>{{sfnp|Morgan|2001|pp=223–224}} [[A. C. Graham|A.C. Graham]] suggested that the Confucian version of the story presented in the ''[[Book of Rites]]'' was the original, which was borrowed and re-interpreted by the followers of [[Zhuang Zhou]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Graham |first=Angus C. |author-link=A. C. Graham |url=https://archive.org/details/chuangtzuinnerch0000zhua |title=Chuang-tzŭ: the Inner Chapters |date=2001 |publisher=Hackett Publishing Company, Inc |isbn=978-0-87220-582-6 |edition=Reprinted |location=Indianapolis Cambridge |pages=126-129 |chapter=The dialogues of Confucius and Old Tan |orig-date=1981}}</ref> His birthday is popularly held to be the 15th day of the second month of the [[Chinese calendar]].<ref name="Stepanchuk Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts Lao Tze">{{cite book |last1=Stepanchuk |first1=Carol |title=Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts: Festivals of China |date=1991 |publisher=China Books & Periodicals |location=San Francisco |isbn=0-8351-2481-9 |page=125}}</ref> In accounts where Laozi married, he was said to have had a son who became a celebrated soldier of [[Wei (state)|Wei]] during the [[Warring States period]].
<gallery widths="200" heights="200" mode="packed">
File:Konfuzius-laozi.jpg|''Confucius meets Laozi'',
File:Lao Tzu - Project Gutenberg eText 15250.jpg|Depiction of Laozi in [[E. T. C. Werner]]'s ''Myths and Legends of China''
</gallery>
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''[[Wu wei]]'', literally 'non-action' or 'not acting', is a central concept of the ''Tao Te Ching''. The concept of ''wu wei'' is multifaceted, and reflected in the words' multiple meanings, even in English translation; it can mean "not doing anything", "not forcing", "not acting" in the theatrical sense, "creating nothingness", "acting spontaneously", and "flowing with the moment".{{sfnp|Watts|Huan|1975|pp=78–86}}
This concept is used to explain ''[[ziran]]'', or harmony with the Tao. It includes the concepts that value distinctions are ideological and seeing ambition of all sorts as originating from the same source. ''Tao Te Ching'' used the term broadly with simplicity and humility as key virtues, often in contrast to selfish action. On a political level, it means avoiding such circumstances as war, harsh laws and heavy taxes. Some Taoists see a connection between ''wu wei'' and [[esoteric]] practices, such as ''[[zuowang]]'' ('sitting in oblivion': emptying the mind of bodily awareness and thought) found in the ''[[Zhuangzi (book)|Zhuangzi]]''.<ref name="Kohn-22"/><section end="DDJ themes" />
Alan Chan provides an example of how Laozi encouraged a change in approach, or return to "nature", rather than action. Technology may bring about a false sense of progress. The answer provided by Laozi is not the rejection of technology, but instead seeking the calm state of ''wu wei'', free from desires. This relates to many statements by Laozi encouraging rulers to keep their people in "ignorance", or "simple-minded". Some scholars insist this explanation ignores the religious context, and others question it as an [[apologetic]] of the philosophical coherence of the text. It would not be unusual political advice if Laozi literally intended to tell rulers to keep their people ignorant. However, some terms in the text, such as "valley spirit" ({{lang|zh|谷神}}, ''gushen'') and 'soul' ({{lang|zh|魄}}, ''po''), bear a metaphysical context and cannot be easily reconciled with a purely ethical reading of the work.<ref name="Kohn-22"/>
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=== Tang dynasty ===
Due to his traditional name ''Li Er'', Laozi has been [[Chinese ancestral veneration|venerated]] as the ancestor of all subsequent
A seventh-century work, the ''Sandong Zhunang'' ({{lang|zh|三洞珠囊}}; "Pearly Bag of the Three Caverns"), presents Laozi is the perfect Taoist master and a character named [[Yinxi]] as the ideal Taoist student. Yinxi follows a formal sequence of preparation, testing, training and attainment.{{sfnp|Kohn|Lafargue|1998|pp=55–56}}
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=== Contemporary ===
Many contemporary philosophers have seen Laozi as a proponent of limited government.{{sfnp|Dorn|2008|pp=282–283}} The [[Right-libertarianism|right-libertarian]] economist [[Murray Rothbard]] suggested that Laozi was the first [[Libertarianism|libertarian]],<ref>Rothbard, Murray (2005). Excerpt from "Concepts of the Role of Intellectuals in Social Change Toward Laissez Faire", ''The Journal of Libertarian Studies'', Vol. IX, No. 2 (Fall 1990) at [https://mises.org/daily/1967 mises.org]</ref> likening Laozi's ideas on government to [[Friedrich Hayek]]'s theory of [[spontaneous order]].<ref>Rothbard, Murray (2005). "The Ancient Chinese Libertarian Tradition", ''Mises Daily'', (5 December 2005) (original source unknown) at [https://mises.org/daily/1967 mises.org]</ref> James A. Dorn agreed, writing that Laozi, like many 18th-century liberals, "argued that minimizing the role of government and letting individuals develop spontaneously would best achieve social and economic harmony."{{sfnp|Dorn|2008}} Similarly, the [[Cato Institute]]'s [[David Boaz]] includes passages from the ''Tao Te Ching
The [[anarcho-syndicalism|anarcho-syndicalist]] writer and activist [[Rudolf Rocker]] praised Laozi's "gentle wisdom" and understanding of the opposition between political power and the cultural activities of the people and community in his 1937 book ''[[Nationalism and Culture]]''.{{sfnp|Rocker|1997|pp=82 & 256}} In his 1910 article for the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'', [[Peter Kropotkin]] also noted that Laozi was among the earliest proponents of essentially [[Anarchism|anarchist]] concepts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/anarchist_archives/kropotkin/britanniaanarchy.html |title=Britannica: Anarchism |publisher=Dwardmac.pitzer.edu |access-date=14 November 2011}}</ref> More recently, anarchists such as John P. Clark and [[Ursula K. Le Guin]] have written about the conjunction between anarchism and Taoism in various ways, highlighting the teachings of Laozi in particular.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://raforum.info/spip.php?article4488&lang=fr|author=Clark, John P.|title=Master Lao and the Anarchist Prince|access-date=1 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020015752/https://raforum.info/spip.php?article4488&lang=fr|archive-date=20 October 2017}}</ref> In her rendition of the Tao Te Ching, Le Guin writes that Laozi "does not see political power as magic. He sees rightful power as earned and wrongful power as usurped... He sees sacrifice of self or others as a corruption of power, and power as available to anyone who follows the Way. No wonder anarchists and Taoists make good friends."{{sfnp|Le Guin|2009|p=20}}
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