LAOZI (Chinese, 6th-century BCE?)
Laozi (also Lao Tzu or Lao-Tze, meaning perhaps "Old Master") is the supposed author of the Dao De Jing (or Tao Te Ching) primary text of philosophical Daoism (Taoism). He is a god in religious Daoism. There is no proof of his earthly existence, but he is said to have been a slightly-older contemporary of Confucius. The Dao De Jing, then, may have been sayings compiled from various sources. Weary of the moral decay in the kingdom (they say), at 80 he rode west on an ox. As he passed the last gate of the kingdom, a sentry recognized him and asked him to at least leave his wisdom behind, so he wrote the Dao De Jing and rode on, never to be seen again (though some say he went to India and taught--or became--the Buddha).
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