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Who was
Lao Tzu?





The Book of the Way &
How It Manifests Itself in the World



Who was Lao Tzu?





Little is known about Lao Tzu



Lao-Tzu ( approx. 500 BCE, also known as Laozi or Lao-Tze) was a Chinese philosopher credited with founding the philosophical system of Taoism. He is best known as the author of the Laozi (later retitled the Tao-Te-Ching and translated as “The Way of Virtue” or “The Classic of the Way and Virtue”) the work which exemplifies his thought.


The name by which he is known is not a personal name but an honorific title meaning 'Old Man' or 'Old Master' and the debate continues as to whether an individual by that name ever existed or whether Lao-Tzu is an amalgam of many different philosophers.



Scholarly consensus on the historical accuracy of Lao-Tzu is that he may be a fictitious character created to embody the concept of the sage. At the same time, according to Chinese tradition, he was an actual historical figure and, in religious Taoism, he is understood as a deity.



Lao Tzu and Taoism



All that is known of Lao-Tzu comes from the classic work Records of the Grand Historian by the Han Dynasty writer Sima Qian (l. 145/135-86 BCE). Sima, working from older historical and literary documents, claims that Lao-Tzu was one of the curators at the Royal Library in the state of Chu and was known as a philosopher.

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He advocated a deep, connective empathy between people as the means to peace and harmony and claimed that such empathy was possible through recognition of the cosmic force of the Tao which had created all things, bound all things, moved all things, and finally loosed all things back into their original state. Aligning one's self with the Tao, according to Lao-Tzu, brought one into harmony with the universe and enriched one's life; opposition to the Tao only brought frustration, unhappiness, and anger which resulted in bad behavior.



Legends concerning Lao-Tzu also claim he was the contemporary and teacher of Confucius (l. 551-479 BCE), founder of Confucianism which, in its original form, was closer to Taoism. Modern-day scholarship dismisses this claim, as well as Lao-Tzu as the author of the Tao-Te-Ching, maintaining the work was most likely created by multiple authors under the name Laozi.



If he did exist, he is thought to have lived in the 6th century BCE. According to legend, Lao-Tzu tried his best to instruct people in the way of the Tao, the creative and binding force which runs through the universe, but no one would listen. His explanation that people could live happier, more fulfilling, lives by aligning themselves with the natural flow of the Tao, instead of placing themselves in opposition to it, went unheeded and, finally, he decided to leave humanity behind and retire into seclusion after writing the Tao Te Ching.



Taoism



According to Taoism, all human beings are naturally good but are corrupted by unjust law and an incorrect belief in how they are supposed to behave in society. By trying to regulate people's behavior through the law, the government only worsens their behavior because it creates an artificial environment which human beings rebel against in an effort to maintain their natural state of harmony. If rulers recognized the Tao and aligned themselves with the flow of the energy of the universe, they would enact laws in accord with natural rhythms and their subjects would respond with respect and proper behavior.



He was especially interested in converting the ruling class to his belief because the country was, at this time, in the midst of the era known as the Warring States Period (c. 481-221 BCE) during which seven states fought each other nearly constantly for supremacy and control of the Chinese government. The Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE) was in decline and could do nothing to maintain order because the separate states were all more powerful than the government but evenly matched against each other.



The influence of Lao Tzu on Chinese culture is both deep and far-reaching, and inspired an intellectual movement known as xuanxue, “Learning in the Profound”—or “Neo-Taoism,” as some scholars prefer, emphasizing its roots in classical Taoism—that dominated the Chinese elite or high culture from the third to the sixth century C.E.


Lao Tzu and the Tao played a significant role in informing not only philosophic thought but also the development of literature, calligraphy, painting, music, martial arts, and other cultural traditions. Imperial patronage enhanced the prestige and enlarged its scope of influence. In 733 C.E., the emperor Xuanzong decreed that all officials should keep a copy of the Daodejing at home and placed the classic on the list of texts to be examined for the civil service examinations. In religious Taoism, recitation of the Daodejing is a prescribed devotional practice and features centrally in ritual performance. The Daodejing has even been set to music. The term “Laozi learning” (Laoxue) has come to designate an important field of study.

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The influence of the Laozi extends beyond China, as Daoism reaches across Asia and in the modern period, the Western world. In Hong Kong, Taiwan, and among the Chinese in Southeast Asia and beyond, Taoism is a living tradition. Taoist beliefs and practices have contributed also to the formation of Korean and Japanese culture, although here the process of cultural transmission, assimilation, and transformation is complex, especially given the close interaction among Taoism, Buddhism, and indigenous traditions such as Shintō.

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During the seventh century, the Laozi was translated into Sanskrit; in the eighteenth century a Latin translation was brought to England, after which there has been a steady supply of translations into Western languages. It's impact has travelled widely across continents and centuries.





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