Lao-tze

Laozi 老子
Laozi, depicted as Daode Tianzun
Born	6th–5th century BCE Zhou Dynasty
Died	531 BCE Zhou Dynasty
Era	Ancient philosophy
Region	Chinese philosophy
School	Taoism
Notable ideas	Wu wei
Influenced Carl Jung, the Neotaoists

Laozi
"Laozi" in seal script (top) and regular (bottom) Chinese characters
Chinese	老子
Literal meaning	"Old Master"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lǎozǐ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Laotzyy Wade–Giles Lao3-tzu3 IPA [làu.tsɨ̀] Wu Suzhounese Lâ-tsỳ Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Lóuh-jí IPA [lo̬u̯.tsǐː] Jyutping Lou5-zi2 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Ló-chú Tâi-lô Ló-tsú Old Chinese Baxter-Sagart *C.rˤuʔ tsəʔ

Laozi (also Lao-Tzu /ˈlaʊˈdzʌ/ or Lao-Tze, Chinese: 老子; pinyin: Lǎozǐ, literally "Old Master") was an ancient Chinese philosopher and writer. He is known as the reputed author of the Tao Te Ching, the founder of philosophical Taoism, and a deity in religious Taoism and traditional Chinese religions.

Although a legendary figure, Laozi is usually dated to around the 6th century BCE and reckoned a contemporary of Confucius, but some historians contend that he actually lived during the Warring States period of the 5th or 4th century BCE. A central figure in Chinese culture, Laozi is claimed by both the emperors of the Tang dynasty and modern people of the Li surname as a founder of their lineage. Laozi's work has been embraced by various anti-authoritarian movements as well as Chinese legalism.

In traditional accounts, Laozi's personal name is usually given as Li Er (, Old *Rəʔ Nəʔ,Mod. Lǐ Ěr) and his courtesy name as Boyang (trad. , simp. , Old *Pˤrak-lang,Mod. Bóyáng). A prominent posthumous name was Li Dan (, Lǐ Dān).