Laozi or Lao Tzu, who lived in the 6th century BC, was a well-known philosopher in ancient China. He was the founder of Taoism. His teachings have been passed down through centuries and today there are still many followers of Taoism.
Famous and respected as he is. Laozi's personal life is still a mystery and there are many stories about his birth and life. The only reliable biography of him is Shiji written by historian Sima Qian of 145 BC. According to Shiji, Laozi was born in Ku County of the state of Chu, the present day Luyi County of Henan Province. His family name was "Li", and "Dan" was his designation (字).
At first, Laozi worked as a historian at the royal court (王朝) of the Zhou Dynasty. Later, he went on a trip to the west and met the guardian of the Hangu Pass (函谷关) who asked Laozi to write a book to record his wisdom for the good of the country.
Upon his request, Laozi began writing his famous book—Daodejing. Daode means "virtue". So the title can be translated as "Classic of the Virtue". After finishing writing the book, the wise old man left Hangu Pass. No one had seen him or known where he was ever since.
However, because of the fact that none of the original texts about Taoism have any reference about the life and death of Laozi, today many researchers have the opinion that Daodejing was in fact not written by Laozi alone. Some even say that Laozi was never a real person but can be referred to any old wise man in ancient China who taught philosophy.
