WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Lao-tzu, translated as either “Old Master” or “Old Boy, ‘’ is believed to be the author of Taoism. Very little is known of his life; he may not even have existed. According to myth, at his birth around 604 B.C.E., Lao-tzu came from the womb as an old man, white-haired and full of wisdom.

Detailed explanation-2: -Taoism has been connected to the philosopher Lao Tzu, who around 500 B.C.E. wrote the main book of Taoism, the Tao Te Ching. Taoism holds that humans and animals should live in balance with the Tao, or the universe. Taoists believe in spiritual immortality, where the spirit of the body joins the universe after death.

Detailed explanation-3: -Three to seven centuries after they were supposed to have lived, Han dynasty (around 100 BCE) historians identified Laozi and Zhuangzi as Daoists. The historians postulated six schools of classical thought-Confucian, Mohist, Yin-yang, Legalist, Daoist and school of names.

Detailed explanation-4: -Laozi is the pinyin romanization for the Chinese characters which mean “Old Master.” Laozi is also known as Lao Dan (“Old Dan”) in early Chinese sources (see Romanization systems for Chinese terms).

Detailed explanation-5: -Legend has it that the two Masters met more than once, Lao-tzu being somewhat senior to Confucius.

Detailed explanation-6: -One of the most important figures in the shaping of classical Daoism is that of Laozi, which simply means “the elder” or “the old man.” Nothing certain is known of him. Some accounts of Laozi suggest that he lived in the sixth century B.C. and that Confucius actually visited him in search of philosophical advice.