Lao Tse: Difference between revisions
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'''Lao Tse''' (b. 604 BCE) is the name commonly used to refer to the supposed author of the ''[[Tao Te Ching]]'', or ''The Classic of The Way and Its Virtue''. The aphorisms found in the Tao Te Ching are considered to be at the core of the Taoist canon, and, by reflection, Lao Tse is generally considered to be, if not the father of Taoism, then at least the first identifiable codifier of Taoist thought. | '''Lao Tse''' (b. 604 BCE) is the name commonly used to refer to the supposed author of the ''[[Tao Te Ching]]'', or ''The Classic of The Way and Its Virtue''. The aphorisms found in the Tao Te Ching are considered to be at the core of the Taoist canon, and, by reflection, Lao Tse is generally considered to be, if not the father of Taoism, then at least the first identifiable codifier of Taoist thought. | ||
Other spellings of the name have included: Lao Tsu, Lao-Tzu, Lao Zi, or Laozi. | |||
The | The name Lao Tse itself is an honorific. ''Lao'' is translated as "venerable" or "old", and Zi can be translated literally as "child" or "offspring", 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 [[scholars]]. Thus, "Lao Tse" can be translated as "the old master”, or perhaps more elegantly, “the old boy.” Lao Tse is believed by some to have been a teacher of [[Confucius]]. | ||
< | Lao Tse's existence is disputed by historians. [http://plato.stanford.edu/| Stanford's online Philosophy Encyclopedia] states the Tao Te Ching is a composite text "written and rewritten over centuries with varied input from multiple anonymous writers"<ref>http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/taoism/</ref>, whereas Miriam-Webster's Lao Tse (although they spell it Lao-Tzu) entry<ref>http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Lao-tzu</ref> states as a fact that he was a "6th century b.c. Chinese philosopher" originally (named) Li Erh. | ||
Sadly, the exact circumstances surrounding the creation of the Tao Te Ching have been lost to the centuries, but one popular version of the story goes something like this: | |||
Lao Tse was the keeper of the archives (what we might today think of as 'the wise man') in one of the many [[kingdom]]s that are now part of [[China]]. When he saw that the kingdom was in decline, he decided to leave. Apon reaching the border, the official in charge of the border pass stopped him and asked that he put his teachings into writing. And so, before leaving, Lao Tse wrote out the 5000 words of the Tao Te Ching for [[posterity]]. | |||
Many versions of the story as well as at least one famous depiction have Lao Tse riding an ox out into the wilderness. | |||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
Revision as of 17:31, 18 January 2008
Lao Tse (b. 604 BCE) is the name commonly used to refer to the supposed author of the Tao Te Ching, or The Classic of The Way and Its Virtue. The aphorisms found in the Tao Te Ching are considered to be at the core of the Taoist canon, and, by reflection, Lao Tse is generally considered to be, if not the father of Taoism, then at least the first identifiable codifier of Taoist thought.
Other spellings of the name have included: Lao Tsu, Lao-Tzu, Lao Zi, or Laozi.
The name Lao Tse itself is an honorific. Lao is translated as "venerable" or "old", and Zi can be translated literally as "child" or "offspring", 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 scholars. Thus, "Lao Tse" can be translated as "the old master”, or perhaps more elegantly, “the old boy.” Lao Tse is believed by some to have been a teacher of Confucius.
Lao Tse's existence is disputed by historians. Stanford's online Philosophy Encyclopedia states the Tao Te Ching is a composite text "written and rewritten over centuries with varied input from multiple anonymous writers"[1], whereas Miriam-Webster's Lao Tse (although they spell it Lao-Tzu) entry[2] states as a fact that he was a "6th century b.c. Chinese philosopher" originally (named) Li Erh.
Sadly, the exact circumstances surrounding the creation of the Tao Te Ching have been lost to the centuries, but one popular version of the story goes something like this:
Lao Tse was the keeper of the archives (what we might today think of as 'the wise man') in one of the many kingdoms that are now part of China. When he saw that the kingdom was in decline, he decided to leave. Apon reaching the border, the official in charge of the border pass stopped him and asked that he put his teachings into writing. And so, before leaving, Lao Tse wrote out the 5000 words of the Tao Te Ching for posterity.
Many versions of the story as well as at least one famous depiction have Lao Tse riding an ox out into the wilderness.