Laozi
c. 571 BCE–c. 471 BCE · Philosopher · Ku county, state of Chu (modern Luyi, Henan)
Laozi ("Old Master") is the semi-legendary figure whom Chinese tradition names as author of the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching), the foundational text of Daoism. The earliest account, in Sima Qian's Shiji (c. 100 BCE), calls him Li Er or Li Dan, a native of Ku county in the state of Chu who served as an archivist at the Zhou royal court. Tradition places him in the 6th century BCE as an older contemporary of Confucius; many modern scholars date the text to the 4th century BCE and regard "Laozi" as a composite. A famous legend has him departing westward through a mountain pass, leaving the Daodejing with a gatekeeper, then vanishing.
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Ku county, state of Chu (modern Luyi, Henan)
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