Content deleted Content added
→Identity: fix chapter name in citation Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit Advanced mobile edit |
→Traditional accounts: Relationship between different versions of the Laozi & Confucius story |
||
Line 115:
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">
| |||