Lao tzu contribution to philosophy

The Tao Te Ching is central to both philosophical and religious Taoism, and has been highly influential to Chinese philosophy and religious practice in general. It is generally taken as preceding the Zhuangzi , the other core Taoist text. The text is well known in the West, and is one of the most translated texts in world literature.

When did lao tzu die

Ancient Chinese books were commonly referenced by the name of their real or supposed author, in this case the "Old Master", [ 16 ] Laozi. As such, the Tao Te Ching is also sometimes referred to as the Laozi , especially in Chinese sources. Among the many transmitted editions of the Tao Te Ching text, the three primary ones are named after early commentaries.

This commentary has a preface written by Ge Xuan — AD , granduncle of Ge Hong , and scholarship dates this version to c. The origins of the "Wang Bi" version have greater verification than either of the above. Tao Te Ching scholarship has advanced from archaeological discoveries of manuscripts, some of which are older than any of the received texts.

When was laozi born

Beginning in the s and s, Marc Aurel Stein and others found thousands of scrolls in the Mogao Caves near Dunhuang. They included more than 50 partial and complete manuscripts. Another partial manuscript has the Xiang'er commentary, which had previously been lost. In , archaeologists discovered copies of early Chinese books, known as the Mawangdui Silk Texts , in a tomb dated to BC.

Based on calligraphic styles and imperial naming taboo avoidances, scholars believe that Text A can be dated to about the first decade and Text B to about the third decade of the 2nd century BC. Both the Mawangdui and Guodian versions are generally consistent with the received texts, excepting differences in chapter sequence and graphic variants.

Several recent Tao Te Ching translations utilise these two versions, sometimes with the verses reordered to synthesize the new finds. Although debated more in early scholarship, early modern scholars like Feng Youlan and Herrlee G.