{"id":6062,"date":"2026-05-19T11:59:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T11:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/laozi\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T09:24:54","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T09:24:54","slug":"laozi","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/laozi\/","title":{"rendered":"Laozi"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"6062\" class=\"elementor elementor-6062 elementor-3065 elementor-bc-flex-widget\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-345170e e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"345170e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ff235dd e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"ff235dd\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8fb6ac8 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"8fb6ac8\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bc68772 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"bc68772\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Laozi, Founder of Daoism<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-359f20b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"359f20b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Laozi (\u8001\u5b50, also Lao-tzu, Lao-tse) is regarded in the Chinese <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The passing on of knowledge and narratives across generations.\" tabindex=\"0\">tradition<\/span> as the founder of <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Chinese religious and philosophical tradition oriented toward the Dao, the Way.\" tabindex=\"0\">Daoism<\/span> and as the legendary author of the \u00abDaodejing\u00bb, one of the most influential texts in the history of Chinese <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The academic discipline that studies religions comparatively and without confessional commitment.\" tabindex=\"0\">religion<\/span> and philosophy.<\/p><p>His historical existence is disputed in modern scholarship; the sources on his life are sparse, contradictory and in part shaped by <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A transmitted narrative about gods, origins and the order of the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">myth<\/span>. The study of Laozi in <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The discipline that studies religions comparatively and without confessional commitment.\" tabindex=\"0\">religious studies<\/span> today centers less on the historical person than on the reception history of the texts attributed to him and on his later deification.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ec1d295 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"ec1d295\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d78c6a0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"d78c6a0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"iwg-pill-row\"><span class=\"iwg-klasse-badge\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"God \/ Goddess: Personified supreme power in the pantheon of a culture, with clearly defined responsibilities: forces of nature, fate, war, fertility. Venerated through cults, sacrifices and temple institutions.\">God<\/span><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3280e9a e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"3280e9a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-78f4bb5 elementor-toc--minimized-on-tablet elementor-widget elementor-widget-table-of-contents\" data-id=\"78f4bb5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;exclude_headings_by_selector&quot;:[],&quot;no_headings_message&quot;:&quot;Es wurden keine \\u00dcberschriften auf dieser Seite gefunden.&quot;,&quot;headings_by_tags&quot;:[&quot;h2&quot;,&quot;h3&quot;],&quot;marker_view&quot;:&quot;bullets&quot;,&quot;icon&quot;:{&quot;value&quot;:&quot;fas fa-circle&quot;,&quot;library&quot;:&quot;fa-solid&quot;,&quot;rendered_tag&quot;:&quot;&lt;svg class=\\&quot;e-font-icon-svg e-fas-circle\\&quot; viewBox=\\&quot;0 0 512 512\\&quot; xmlns=\\&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.w3.org\\\/2000\\\/svg\\&quot;&gt;&lt;path d=\\&quot;M256 8C119 8 8 119 8 256s111 248 248 248 248-111 248-248S393 8 256 8z\\&quot;&gt;&lt;\\\/path&gt;&lt;\\\/svg&gt;&quot;},&quot;minimize_box&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;minimized_on&quot;:&quot;tablet&quot;,&quot;hierarchical_view&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;min_height&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;min_height_tablet&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;min_height_mobile&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]}}\" data-widget_type=\"table-of-contents.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-toc__header-title\">\n\t\t\t\tTable of contents\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__toggle-button elementor-toc__toggle-button--expand\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-toc__78f4bb5\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-label=\"Open table of contents\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-chevron-down\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M207.029 381.476L12.686 187.132c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941l22.667-22.667c9.357-9.357 24.522-9.375 33.901-.04L224 284.505l154.745-154.021c9.379-9.335 24.544-9.317 33.901.04l22.667 22.667c9.373 9.373 9.373 24.569 0 33.941L240.971 381.476c-9.373 9.372-24.569 9.372-33.942 0z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__toggle-button elementor-toc__toggle-button--collapse\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-toc__78f4bb5\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-label=\"Close table of contents\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-chevron-up\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M240.971 130.524l194.343 194.343c9.373 9.373 9.373 24.569 0 33.941l-22.667 22.667c-9.357 9.357-24.522 9.375-33.901.04L224 227.495 69.255 381.516c-9.379 9.335-24.544 9.317-33.901-.04l-22.667-22.667c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941L207.03 130.525c9.372-9.373 24.568-9.373 33.941-.001z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-toc__78f4bb5\" class=\"elementor-toc__body\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__spinner-container\">\n\t\t\t\t<svg class=\"elementor-toc__spinner eicon-animation-spin e-font-icon-svg e-eicon-loading\" aria-hidden=\"true\" viewBox=\"0 0 1000 1000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M500 975V858C696 858 858 696 858 500S696 142 500 142 142 304 142 500H25C25 237 238 25 500 25S975 237 975 500 763 975 500 975Z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a6d504f e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"a6d504f\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cf9f9ad iwg-hero-image elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"cf9f9ad\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_daoismus_laozi-683x1024.webp\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-6063\" alt=\"Laozi - Gods from the Daoist tradition, historical-illustrative\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_daoismus_laozi-683x1024.webp 683w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_daoismus_laozi-200x300.webp 200w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_daoismus_laozi-768x1152.webp 768w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_daoismus_laozi.webp 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5250054 e-con-boxed e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"5250054\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7b7d392 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"7b7d392\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b0015f5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"b0015f5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The source situation regarding the historical person<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0c2b50b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0c2b50b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The most detailed <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Era of Greek and Roman culture, roughly 800 BC to 600 AD.\" tabindex=\"0\">ancient<\/span> biography of Laozi is found in the \u00abShiji\u00bb (\u00abRecords of the Grand Historian\u00bb) by Sima Qian, completed around 90 BC. Sima Qian reports three different versions about Laozi and admits himself that he does not know which one is correct.<\/p><p>The most popular version makes Laozi an official at the court of the Eastern Zhou dynasty who, in the 6th century BC, is said to have been a librarian or archivist.<\/p><p>He is said to have met the young Confucius (551 to 479 BC) and to have given instruction to the future master.<\/p><p>Finally Laozi, disappointed by the decline of the empire, is said to have left the country toward the west and, at the request of the border guard Yinxi at the Han-Gu Pass, to have written down the Daodejing in 5000 characters.<\/p><p>The second version identifies Laozi with Lao Laizi, another Daoist teacher of the Zhou period. The third version places him about 100 years later. These multiple versions show that Sima Qian himself had no reliable biographical data and compiled the material from various oral and written traditions.<\/p><p>Hans-Georg M\u00f6ller, in \u00abLaotse\u00bb (1995) and \u00abThe Philosophy of the Daodejing\u00bb (2006), has shown that the sparse data of Sima Qian have a legendary rather than a historical substance.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c6257dc e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"c6257dc\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ad033e4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"ad033e4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Historicity in modern scholarship<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-28596d1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"28596d1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Modern sinological scholarship discusses the question of Laozi&#8217;s historicity intensively. Russell Kirkland, in \u00abTaoism: The Enduring Tradition\u00bb (2004), has taken a critical position according to which Laozi as a historical person is barely tangible and the texts attributed to him are rather the product of several generations of Daoist-minded scholars.<\/p><p>This position is supported by text-historical research: according to the current view, the Daodejing is not a uniformly composed work but a compilation whose oldest layers reach back into the 4th or 3rd century BC.<\/p><p>The bamboo texts discovered in 1993 at Guodian (Hubei Province) contained fragments of an early version of the Daodejing, dated to the late 4th century BC. These finds have revived the discussion about the origins of the text and show that the Daodejing was edited and supplemented over the course of several centuries.<\/p><p>A single historical author is therefore unlikely. The tradition of attributing the work to Laozi belongs to a typical Chinese pattern of pseudepigraphic attribution to a legendary founder.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6fa1cda e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"6fa1cda\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-72671cc elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"72671cc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The Daodejing<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ed9666a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ed9666a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The Daodejing (\u00abClassic of the Way and Virtue\u00bb) is a text of 81 short chapters that unfolds fundamental Daoist concepts in a poetic, aphoristic form.<\/p><p>The central terms are \u00abDao\u00bb (Way, original cosmic reality), \u00abDe\u00bb (virtue, inner power), \u00abWuwei\u00bb (non-action, effortless effectiveness), \u00abZiran\u00bb (naturalness, so-of-itself) and \u00abPu\u00bb (the uncarved wood, original simplicity). Together these terms form a philosophical and religious system that was developed further in numerous later commentaries.<\/p><p>The most important <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The era of Greek and Roman culture, roughly 800 BCE to 600 CE.\" tabindex=\"0\">classical<\/span> commentaries on the Daodejing come from Wang Bi (226 to 249) and Heshang Gong (1st century BC or 2nd century AD). Both represent different readings: Wang Bi reads the text philosophically and <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Concerning the question of what really exists; ontological statements make claims about the nature of being.\" tabindex=\"0\">ontologically<\/span>, Heshang Gong religiously and practically with reference to meditation and breathing techniques.<\/p><p>The tension between a philosophical and a religious reading shapes the reception of the Daodejing to the present day. Livia Kohn, in \u00abDaoism and Chinese Culture\u00bb (2001), has shown how this dual nature of the text made possible its extraordinary impact in the most varied cultural contexts.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0ba74c9 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"0ba74c9\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c62d4e6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"c62d4e6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The deification of Laozi<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4c669a2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4c669a2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In the 2nd century AD the religious deification of Laozi began. In the early Daoist school of the Tianshi (\u00abCelestial Masters\u00bb), founded by Zhang Daoling around 142 AD, Laozi was venerated as a heavenly teacher and manifestation of the Dao.<\/p><p>He is said to have appeared to Zhang Daoling in a vision and handed him the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Belonging to the divine and thereby withdrawn from everyday use.\" tabindex=\"0\">sacred<\/span> texts. Thus Laozi was no longer merely a legendary philosopher but a cosmic figure with an active religious function.<\/p><p>This deification was expanded over the following centuries.<\/p><p>In the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Chinese religious and philosophical tradition oriented toward the Dao, the Way.\" tabindex=\"0\">Daoism<\/span> of the Tang period (618 to 907), Laozi was regarded as Taishang Laojun (\u00abMost High Old Lord\u00bb), one of the three principal deities of the Daoist <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the gods of a religion or culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">pantheon<\/span> alongside Yuanshi Tianzun (\u00abCelestial Worthy of the Primordial Beginning\u00bb) and Lingbao Tianzun (\u00abCelestial Worthy of the Sacred Treasure\u00bb).<\/p><p>In this form Laozi is present to this day in the Daoist <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A structure that serves the veneration of one or more deities.\" tabindex=\"0\">temples<\/span> of China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d4e0da5 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"d4e0da5\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b11b74c elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"b11b74c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Laozi and imperial politics<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-94e71dc elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"94e71dc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Laozi played a special role in imperial politics. The Tang emperors, who bore the family name Li, claimed genealogical descent from Laozi, whose family name is said to have been Li. This genealogical construction became the ideological foundation of the Tang dynasty and led to state support of <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Chinese religious and philosophical tradition oriented toward the Dao, the Way.\" tabindex=\"0\">Daoism<\/span>.<\/p><p>Emperor Xuanzong (reigned 712 to 756) conferred on Laozi the title \u00abMost <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Belonging to the divine and thereby withdrawn from everyday use.\" tabindex=\"0\">Holy<\/span> Ancestor, Eternal Lord of Heaven of Mighty Virtue\u00bb and ordered that the Daodejing become required reading in the state examinations.<\/p><p>Florian Reiter, in \u00abThe Aspirations and Standards of Taoist Priests in the Early Tang Period\u00bb (1998), has shown how closely the religious veneration of Laozi was connected with the political self-representation of the Tang dynasty.<\/p><p>Imperial support led to a flourishing of <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Chinese religious and philosophical tradition oriented toward the Dao, the Way.\" tabindex=\"0\">Daoism<\/span>, to the construction of numerous <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A building that serves the veneration of one or more deities.\" tabindex=\"0\">temples<\/span> and to the standardization of the Daoist <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The established order of worship of a religious community.\" tabindex=\"0\">liturgy<\/span>. This political appropriation shaped the image of Laozi lastingly and distinguishes his reception from the less institutionalized line of Confucianism.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7f33cd7 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"7f33cd7\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-518d1c6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"518d1c6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Classification in religious studies<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-357732f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"357732f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In religious-studies scholarship a distinction is made between \u00abphilosophical <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Chinese religious and philosophical tradition oriented toward the Dao, the Way.\" tabindex=\"0\">Daoism<\/span>\u00bb (Daojia) and \u00abreligious <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Chinese religious and philosophical tradition oriented toward the Dao, the Way.\" tabindex=\"0\">Daoism<\/span>\u00bb (Daojiao), a separation that has been in use since the Han period (206 BC to 220 AD). This distinction is, however, problematic because both strands merge into one another in historical reality.<\/p><p>Isabelle Robinet, in \u00abTaoism: Growth of a Religion\u00bb (1997), and Harold Roth, in \u00abOriginal Tao\u00bb (1999), have shown that a strict separation does not adequately reflect the historical evidence. The Daodejing too contains passages that are to be read in terms of meditative practice, while the religious currents use the philosophical terms centrally.<\/p><p>Volker Olles, in his works on <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Chinese religious and philosophical tradition oriented toward the Dao, the Way.\" tabindex=\"0\">Daoism<\/span> in Sichuan, has documented the regional diversity of Laozi veneration. In some regions Laozi is venerated as a cosmic principle, in others as a personal <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A being venerated as divine within a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">deity<\/span> with concrete fields of action (healing, protection, wealth).<\/p><p>This diversity shows that <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Chinese religious and philosophical tradition oriented toward the Dao, the Way.\" tabindex=\"0\">Daoism<\/span> is not a closed religion but a broad religious tradition with numerous currents and local forms.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e31b6ff e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"e31b6ff\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2f4de1b elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2f4de1b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Laozi in comparison<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d6ed944 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d6ed944\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The comparison of Laozi with the great founders of other religious traditions (Confucius, Buddha, Socrates) is occasionally drawn in scholarship, but it is methodologically delicate. Hans-Georg M\u00f6ller has pointed out that the notion of a single founder, prominent in Western religions, does not apply in the same way in the Chinese tradition.<\/p><p>Laozi is less a founder in the sense of Jesus or Muhammad than a legendary <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sign that stands representatively for a concept or meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">symbolic<\/span> figure who represents a particular tradition without having actively called it into being.<\/p><p>Within the Chinese tradition Laozi stands alongside Zhuangzi (4th century BC), the second great Daoist author, whose eponymous work \u00abZhuangzi\u00bb likewise has fundamental importance. Both are often jointly described as the founders of classical <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Chinese religious and philosophical tradition oriented toward the Dao, the Way.\" tabindex=\"0\">Daoism<\/span>.<\/p><p>Hans-Georg M\u00f6ller and Harold Roth have shown that the two texts set different philosophical accents but use shared basic concepts and comment on one another.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6ae790a e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"6ae790a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f4f2ade elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"f4f2ade\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The Mawangdui and Guodian manuscripts<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fcdec89 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"fcdec89\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div data-nosnippet=\"true\"><p>The text-historical study of the \u00abDaodejing\u00bb was fundamentally changed by two archaeological finds of the 20th century. In 1973 Chinese archaeologists discovered in Tomb 3 of Mawangdui near Changsha (Hunan Province) two silk manuscripts of the text, dated to 168 BCE.<\/p><p>The versions \u00abMawangdui A\u00bb and \u00abMawangdui B\u00bb show a reversed arrangement of the main parts compared with the later standard text: the \u00abDe part\u00bb (chapters 38 to 81 of the standard text) precedes the \u00abDao part\u00bb (chapters 1 to 37).<\/p><p>In sinology this finding is read as an indication of an older redaction preceding the standard text. Robert G. Henricks, in \u00abLao-Tzu. Te-Tao Ching\u00bb (New York 1989), presented a complete English translation of the Mawangdui versions with a critical apparatus and pointed to 130 substantial differences in reading from the Wang Bi vulgate.<\/p><p>The second key find consists of the bamboo strips excavated in 1993 at Guodian (also in Hunan) from a tomb dated to about 300 BCE.<\/p><p>In three bundles they contain about two-fifths of the Daodejing text in a form not yet divided into two parts. This version is today regarded as the oldest material textual witness of the Daodejing complex. Robert Henricks, in \u00abLao Tzu&#8217;s Tao Te Ching.<\/p><p>A Translation of the Startling New Documents Found at Guodian\u00bb (New York 2000), presented a first philological edition; Sarah Allan and Crispin Williams, in the collected volume \u00abThe Guodian Laozi\u00bb (Berkeley 2000), discussed the methodological consequences for the dating question.<\/p><p>Harold D. Roth, in \u00abOriginal Tao\u00bb (New York 1999), has shown that the Guodian bamboo strips locate the Daodejing text as part of a broader current of early meditative-cosmological reflection, whose traces are also tangible in \u00abNeiye\u00bb and \u00abHeguanzi\u00bb.<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3f70d31 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"3f70d31\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-477e1e7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"477e1e7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Commentary tradition and religious appropriation<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d530ab5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d530ab5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The productive reception history of the Daodejing is carried primarily by its commentary tradition. Three commentaries are regarded in sinology as <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Belonging to the body of writings authoritatively recognized by a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">canonical<\/span>.<\/p><p>The \u00abHeshanggong commentary\u00bb (\u00abLao-tse commentary of the Master on the Riverbank\u00bb), traditionally dated to the Han period (in fact probably the 1st to 2nd century CE), reads the text within a program of bodily self-cultivation and thereby shapes the later Daoist tradition of inner <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A pre-modern combination of natural philosophy and symbolic science; working with material transformation as inner transformation.\" tabindex=\"0\">alchemy<\/span> (neidan).<\/p><p>Eduard Erkes published the first systematic treatment of the Heshanggong commentary in a Western language in the \u00abArtibus Asiae\u00bb in 1950; Alan K. L. Chan, in \u00abTwo Visions of the Way\u00bb (Albany 1991), compared the Heshanggong commentary with the second canonical commentary.<\/p><p>This second commentary comes from Wang Bi (226 to 249), a representative of the \u00abxuanxue\u00bb (\u00abTeaching of the Mysterious\u00bb) of the Wei-Jin period, and recasts the text into an ontological-metaphysical line in which \u00abnothingness\u00bb (\u00abwu\u00bb) is read as the ontological ground of being.<\/p><p>Wang Bi&#8217;s commentary lastingly shaped the later Chinese reading of the text and is the basis of the overwhelming majority of today&#8217;s standard editions.<\/p><p>The third central commentary is the \u00abXiang&#8217;er commentary\u00bb (\u00abExplanation in Thought of You\u00bb), produced in the 2nd or 3rd century in the circles of the early \u00abTianshi\u00bb (Celestial Masters) Daoists.<\/p><p>Stephen R. Bokenkamp, in \u00abEarly Daoist Scriptures\u00bb (Berkeley 1997), translated the Xiang&#8217;er commentary into English in full for the first time and showed that the religious appropriation of Laozi as the personal deity \u00abTaishang Laojun\u00bb is already fully developed in this layer and did not first arise in the later Lingbao and Shangqing schools.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-450e76c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"450e76c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-11340e6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"11340e6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">International reception<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-eae2959 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"eae2959\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The Daodejing is, alongside the Bible, the most frequently translated book in the world. The first European translations date from the 18th century; in the 19th and 20th centuries the work was made accessible to a broad Western readership through translators such as Richard Wilhelm, James Legge and Arthur Waley.<\/p><p>In the 20th century Laozi also exerted considerable influence on Western philosophy, on the psychotherapeutic tradition and on the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Collective term for teachings that claim a hidden knowledge accessible only to initiates.\" tabindex=\"0\">esoteric<\/span> movement, often in a heavily simplified and Western-reinterpreted form.<\/p><p>Today Laozi scholarship is an international field in which Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, European and American sinologists take part. The discussions about dating, textual history, philosophical reading and religious function are lively.<\/p><p>One conclusion of the research so far can be noted: the question of the historical Laozi is possibly less important than the question of the reception history of the texts attributed to him, which belong among the most formative works of world literature and of the history of world religion.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Laozi, Founder of Daoism Laozi (\u8001\u5b50, also Lao-tzu, Lao-tse) is regarded in the Chinese tradition as the founder of Daoism and as the legendary author of the \u00abDaodejing\u00bb, one of the most influential texts in the history of Chinese religion and philosophy. His historical existence is disputed in modern scholarship; the sources on his life [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6063,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"Laozi","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Laozi: Founder of Daoism | iWell Guard","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Laozi is the mythical founder of Daoism and author of the Daodejing. Deified as one of the Three Pure Ones","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_angie_page":false,"gefaehrdungsstufe":"","wesen_kultur":"","wesen_klasse":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[123,70,86,27],"class_list":["post-6062","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daoism","category-daoismus","category-gods","category-goetter"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Laozi: Founder of Daoism | iWell Guard<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Laozi is the mythical founder of Daoism and author of the Daodejing. 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