Laozi: The Chinese Philosophy of the Way
How to keep on moving and flourishing in a changing world
The Daodejing or Classic of Ways and Powers is one of the most translated of all Chinese texts. It is traditionally attributed to the Daoist sage Laozi (also written Lao Tzu),
At just over 5000 characters long, the Daodejing is a masterpiece of compression. But due to its brevity and its elliptical style, it has been read in a multitude of different ways: as everything from a mystical treatise to a hard-headed work about statecraft.
Life
But what about Laozi, the Daodejing’s purported author? The name “Laozi” literally means “Old Master.” The Chinese tradition says that Laozi’s given name was Li Er, and some accounts make him a contemporary of Confucius. However, over the last century, scholars have increasingly cast doubt on the historicity of Li Er. And even if there was a historical individual called Li Er, his connection with the Daodejing is probably tenuous.
The sage and the ox
But as usual, where history remains silent, stories proliferate. The legendary accounts make Laozi a librarian in the court of Zhou. It was a role that gave him time to read the thoughts of the ancients, and thus to cultivate wisdom. The historian Sima Qian…
