About
Laozi (, Chinese: 老子), also romanized as Lao Tzu and various other ways, is a semi-legendary ancient Chinese philosopher and author of the Tao Te Ching (Laozi), the foundational text of Taoism along with the Zhuangzi. A Chinese honorific typically translated as "the Old Master (zi)", the name and text were likely intended to an portray an archaic anonymity that could converse with Confucianism. Modern scholarship generally regards his biographical details as later inventions, and his opus a collaboration. Traditional accounts addend him as Li Er, born in the 6th century BC state of Chu during China's Spring and Autumn period. Serving as the royal archivist for the Zhou court at Wangcheng (in modern Luoyang), he met and impressed Confucius on one occasion, composing the Tao Te Ching in a single session before retiring into the western wilderness.
Laozi is sometimes cited as:
- Lao Tzu
- Laotzu