Laozi

~6th century BCE · Chinese · Spring and Autumn Period, Ancient China

Known for: Wrote the Tao Te Ching and founded Daoism — the philosophy of going with the flow, which ironically requires tremendous discipline

Laozi (also Lao Tzu) is the legendary author of the Tao Te Ching, the foundational text of Daoism. Whether he was a real historical person is debated — tradition holds he was an archivist in the Zhou dynasty court who became disillusioned with civilization and left for the western frontier. A border guard asked him to write down his wisdom, and the result was the Tao Te Ching's 81 chapters.

The Tao Te Ching advocates wu wei — non-action or effortless action — and living in harmony with the Tao (the Way), the fundamental principle underlying the universe. His philosophy influenced Chinese religion, art, medicine, martial arts, and governance for millennia. Daoism later developed into a full religion with temples, priests, and rituals that would have bewildered the original philosopher.

Browse all 1,000 figures by category

Enable JavaScript to view the full "if they lived today" Q&A and personality profile.