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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 manuscript containing text from the ''Tao Te Ching'' dates to the late 4th century BC, written on [[bamboo slips]] excavated as part of the [[Guodian Chu Slips]]. However, these are mixed in with quotes from other works, indicating that the ''Tao Te Ching'' was still undergoing revisions and modifications.{{sfnp|Shaughnessy|2005}} The oldest manuscripts of the ''Tao Te Ching'' in a complete form by itself were discovered at a tomb in [[Mawangdui]], and date to the early 2nd century BCE.<ref name="stanford">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Laozi | last= Chan | first = Alan | orig-date= 2001 | editor1 = Edward N. Zalta | editor2= Uri Nodelman | display-editors= etal |url=http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/laozi/ |encyclopedia=[[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]] |publisher=Stanford University Department of Philosophy |year=2018 |quote=The discovery of two ''Laozi'' silk manuscripts at Mawangdui, near Changsha, Hunan province in 1973 marks an important milestone in modern ''Laozi'' research. The manuscripts, identified simply as 'A' (''[[sexagenary cycle|jia]]'') and 'B' (''yi''), were found in a tomb that was sealed in 168
=== Traditional accounts ===
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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}}
== Notes ==
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