About
Lao Tzu (老子, 'Old Master'), born Li Er, is a semi-legendary figure in Chinese philosophy. According to tradition, he lived in the 6th century BCE and served as an archivist at the Eastern Zhou court. He is credited with writing the Tao Te Ching, the foundational text of philosophical Taoism, consisting of about 5,000 characters. The oldest extant manuscripts (Guodian bamboo slips, Mawangdui silk texts) date from the 4th to 3rd century BCE, and sole authorship is debated. Revered as a deity in religious Taoism, he has profoundly influenced Chinese thought and world literature.
Major works
- Tao Te Chingphilosophical text
Key milestones
- c. 571–470 BCETraditional dates attributed to Lao Tzu, an older contemporary of Confucius.
- c. 300 BCEThe Guodian bamboo slips, the oldest known fragments of the Tao Te Ching, are dated to this period.
- c. 168 BCEThe Mawangdui silk manuscripts, containing the Tao Te Ching, are sealed in a tomb.
Themes
The Tao (the Way)Non-action (wu wei)Simplicity and humilityHarmony with natureParadox and wisdom
Sources: plato.stanford.edu · ctext.org