Lao-tzu (formerly written Lao-tse), one of the most remarkable men of the Chinese Empire, the author of the Tao-te-kinr/, and founder of the religious sect known as Taoists (or Tauists), was born in the king- dom of Tsu B.C. 604. His family name was Le, or Plum ; in his youth he himself was called Urh, or Ear, a name given him on account of the size of his ears. When he came to be known as a philosopher he was honorably caMcd Pe-ijanr/. and was surnamcd Lao-tzu (old boy), or Lao-kun-tzii (old prince). Tradition asserts that his fa- ther was a poor peasant, who remained a bachelor until he was seventy j'ears old, and then married a woman of forty. Lao-tzu was probably a great student in early life, and when yet a youth was promoted to an office connected with the treasury or the museum under the Chow dynasty. While in the service at the court of Chow he visited the western parts of China, and there probably became acquainted with the rites and religion of Full, or Buddha. The duration of Lao-tzu's service at the court is entirely uncertain. When the Chow dy- nasty was hastening to its fall, and the whole country torn up into petty states warring with each other, and anarcliy every where prevailing, La(j-tzu retired into obscurity. For this course he has been often and se- verely censured ; but when we consider that the corrup- tion of the government was too great for him to over- come, it does not appear that he was to blame for retiring with pure hands from his connection with it. There is no trustworthy account of the time or manner of his death, but some writers have assigned the date of B.C. 523 to that event. Szu Ma-chien, in relating his retirement from the government, sim]jly says, '• He then went away, and no one knows his end." His life seems to have been that of a contemplative philosopher — far more oc- cupied with thoughts of the invisible and the mj'steri- ous than with sublunary things. He became so cele- brated as a philosojiher that Confucius went to see him, and left him decjjly imjiressed with his extraordinary character, and evidently regarded Lao-tzu as something wonderful — divine; yet, while all agree that Confucius was almost carried away by his admiration of Lao-tzu, the latter has been accused of jealousy and spite against Confucius. His writings, however, give no color to the charge ; nor is it likely that Confucius himself would have always spoken of Lao-tzu in such high terms of este«m and admiration, and even quoted the opinions of his rival as sufficient answers to the tiueries of his dis- ciples, had he not received kind treatment and atten- tions at the hands of Lao-tzu, the advocate of a doctrine that " man is to be rendered immortal through the con- templation of God, the repression of the passions, and the perfect tranquillity of the soul," the author of " a moral code inculcating all the great princi|)les found in other religions : charity, benevolence, virtue, and the free-will, moral agency, and responsibility of man."
Lao-tzu has at different periods enjoyed the patron- age of the Chinese government, there being, indeed, a
constant struggle for ascendency between his supporters and those of Confucius during several centuries at the beginning of our era. Emperors have paid homage to him in his temple, and one of them wrote a commentary on his book. When we turn aside from definite history and give our attention to legends, there is no end to the mysteries thrown around his birth and being. His fol- lowers have transferred him from the ranks of ordinary mortals into an incarnation of deity, and have clothed his philosophic treatise with the authority of a sacred book, being jirobably moved to this course by a desire to make their founder equal to Sakyamuni (see Gauta- ma), and to give enhanced importance to his works. He is represented as an eternal and self-existing being, incarnated at various times upon the earth. One ac- count represents him as having been conceived by the inriuence of a meteor, anil after being carried in the womb for seventy-two (another author says eightj'-one) years, at last delivering himself by bursting a jiassage under his nK)ther's left arm. From having gray hairs at birtli, and looking generally like an old man, he was called Lao-tzu — i. e. the old bo;/. He is reported to have had the gift of speech at birth. It is also said that, as soon as he was born, he mounted nine paces in the air, each step producing a lotus-fiower, and, while poised there, |iointed with his left hand to heaven and with his right hand to earth, saying, " Heaven above — earth be- neath— only Tao is honorable." The eighty-one chap- ters of the Tao-tc-kinr; are said to have been obtained from him by Ym-hsi, the keeper of the Han-ku Pass, through which he was leaving the country on his re- tirement from office.
The Tao-te-hini) seems to have recei\-ed its present name about B.C. 160. Before that, it was known as the teachings of Hwang and Lao — i.e. the emperor Hwang (B.C. 2600) and Lao-tzu ; also as the Book of Lao-tzu. There is much uncertainty and confusion in regard to the text. Some editors, having in view the tradition that Lao-tzu -(VTote a book of 5000 characters, have cut down those in excess of that number without much re- gard for the sense of the author. Others have added characters to explain the meaning, thus incorporating their commentary into the text. The occasional sup- pression of a negative particle, by some editors, gives an exactly opposite meaning to a sentence from that of other editions. To ascertain the true text is in many instances impossible. The style is exceedmgly terse and concise, without any pretension to grace or elegance. The work is fidl of short sentences, often enigmatical or paradoxical, and without apparent connection. (Juite probably the book is composed of notes for philosophical discourses, which Avere expanded and explained by Lao- tzu while orally instructing his disciples. As contribu- ting to the obscurity of the style, we must consider that the topics discussed are exceedingly abstruse, and that Lao-tzu labored under the cUsadvantage of writing in the infancy of literary language in China, and was com- pelled to use a very imperfect medium for communica- ting his thoughts.