Lao Tzu
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| Laozi's names | |
|---|---|
| Chinese name: | 老子 |
| Pinyin: | Lǎozǐ |
| Wade-Giles: | Lao Tzu |
| Other spellings: | Lao Tse, Laotse, Lao Tze, Laotze |
| Actual name: | Lǐ Ěr |
| Courtesy name: | Bó Yáng |
| Posthumous name: | Dān |
 Laozi leaves China on his water buffalo. | |
Laozi (Pinyin: Lǎozǐ; also transliterated as Lao Tzu, Lao Tse, Laotze, and in other ways) is a major figure in Chinese philosophy whose historical existence is still debated. According to Chinese tradition, he lived in the 6th century BCE; however, many historians placed his life in the 4th century BCE, which was the period of Hundred Schools of Thought and Warring States Period. Laozi was credited with writing the seminal of Taoist work, the Tao Te Ching, and he was recognised as the founder of Taoism.
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[edit] His life
Little is known of Laozi's life. His historical existence is still strongly debated, as is his authorship of the Tao Te Ching. Laozi became an important cultural hero to subsequent generations of Chinese people. Legend says he was born in Ku Prefecture of the state of Chǔ, which is known today as Lùyì County of Henan province, in the later years of the Spring and Autumn Period. However, some people insist that he was born in Guoyang County, Anhui Province. Some legends say that he was born with white hair, and had spent eight or eighty years in his mother's womb, which provided an explanation of his name, which can be read as "the old master" or "the old child".
According to the legend and the biography included in Sima Qian's work, Laozi was an older contemporary of Confucius, and worked as an archivist in the Imperial Library of the Zhou Dynasty (1122–256 BCE). Confucius intentionally or accidentally met him in Zhou, near the location of modern Luoyang, where Confucius was going to browse the library scrolls. According to this story, Confucius, over the following months, discussed ritual and propriety, cornerstones of Confucianism, with Laozi. The latter strongly opposed what he felt to be hollow practices. Taoist legend claims that these discussions proved more educational for Confucius than the contents of the libraries.
Laozi quit his work, perhaps because the Zhou Dynasty was in chaos. Some claimed that he travelled to the West with his water buffalo through the state of Qin, and disappeared into the vast desert. Arriving at the Hangu custom post, Laozi was asked by Yixi, an officer of the post, to leave his philosophy in writing before departing into the desert. This would serve as the only time Laozi wrote down his philosophy. Laozi's response to the officer's request was the Tao Te Ching. Scrolls and painting often depict Laozi as a bald elderly man with a white beard riding on a water buffalo.
[edit] Controversies
Some controversial theories about Laozi are:
- The discussion with Confucius might have been fabricated by Taoists to make their school of philosophy sound superior to Confucianism.
- The actual author(s) of the Tao Te Ching might have created a fictitious character so that the origin of the text would look more mysterious, thus making it easier to be popularised.
- Arguments that "Laozi" was a pseudonym of Dan, Prefect of the Grand Scribes, or of an old man from Lai, a prefecture in the state of Qí, or of some other historical persons.
- It is also believed that the Tao Te Ching was written as a guideline for emperors as how to rule their empire in a more natural way; "Ruling by not ruling". This can be found in the numerous references in the Tao Te Ching which stated: "Not exalting man of worth, prevents people from competing" and "Not putting high value on rare goods, prevents people from being bandit" and "Human hunger is the result of overtaxation. For this reason, there is hunger".
[edit] Taoism
Laozi's work, the Tao Te Ching, is one of the most significant treatises in Chinese philosophy. It is his magnum opus, covering large areas of philosophy from individual spirituality and inter-personal dynamics to political techniques.
Laozi developed the concept of "Tao", often translated as "the Way", and widened its meaning to an inherent order or property of the universe: "The way Nature is". He highlighted the concept of Wei wuwei, or "action without action". This does not mean that one should hang around and do nothing, but that one should avoid explicit intentions, strong wills or proactive actions;
Laozi believed that violence should be avoided as much as possible, and that military victory -- which logically would be attained through use of force -- should be an occasion for mourning rather than triumphant celebration.
Similarly to the arguments fowarded by Plato in the Republic on various form of governing, Laozi said that the codification of laws and rules into the society created difficulty and complexity in managing and governing.
As with most other ancient Chinese philosophers, Laozi often explains his ideas by way of paradox, analogy, appropriation of ancient sayings, repitition, symmetry, rhyme, and rhythm. The writings attributed to him are often very dense and poetic. They serve as a starting point for cosmological or introspective meditations. Many of the aesthetic theories of Chinese art are widely grounded in his ideas and those of his most famous follower Zhuang Zi.
Some people suggest that the closest parallel to Taoist philosophy in the west is the Traditionalist School, specifically the works of Ananda Coomaraswamy and Rene Guenon.
[edit] Influences
Laozi's most famous follower, Zhuang Zi, wrote a book that had a great deal of influence on Chinese Literati, through the ideas of individualism, freedom, carefreeness, and, even if the author never speaks about it, art, which may well be the cornerstone of Chinese aesthetic.
[edit] Names
The name "Laozi" is an honorific. Lao means "venerable" or "old". Zi or tsu translates literally as "boy", but it was also a term for a rank of nobleman equivalent to viscount, as well as a term of respect attached to the names of revered masters; thus, "Laozi" can be translated roughly as "the old master".
Laozi's personal name may have been Li Er, his courtesy name may have been Boyang, and also Dan, which also means "mysterious".
Laozi is also known as:
- Laodan
- Great Lord
- Li the Great Lord
- Lao the Great Lord
- Laozi the Lord of Tao
In the Li Tang Dynasty, in order to create a connection to Laozi as the ancestor of the imperial family, he was honoured as The Emperor of Xuanyuan , meaning "Profoundly Elementary;" with a temple name of Shengzu, meaning "Saintly/Sagely Progenitor".
[edit] External links
- A reconstructed portrait of Laozi, based on historical sources, in a contemporary style.
- Lao Tzu Page that provides teachings on Laozi, his life and philosophical concepts.
- A collection of resources on Laozi by Patrick Jennings: Critical Thinkers: Lao Tse & Daoism.
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry
- "The Philosophers: Lao-Tzu" - a poem that criticized Laozi by Po Chu-I, translated by Arthur Waley
[edit] Bibliography
- Lau, D. C. Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching. London: Penguin Classics, 1963. ISBN 0-140-44131-X
- Wing-tsit Chan, "The Natural Way of Lao Tzu". Chapter 6, A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1963. ISBN 0-691-01964-9
- Henricks, Robert (translator). Lao-Tzu, Te-Tao Ching: A New Translation Based on the Recently Discovered Ma-wang-tui Texts. New York: Ballantine Books, 1989. ISBN 0-345-37099-6
- Waley, Arthur (translator). The Way and Its Power: A Study of the Tao Te Ching and Its Place in Chinese Thought. New York: Grove Press, 1958. ISBN 0-394-17207-8
- Welch, Holmes. Taoism: the Parting of the Way. Boston: Beacon Press, 1965. ISBN 0-8070-5973-0
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