The legend of Laozi and Daoism

Typical renderings of Laozi depict him as an old man with long white hair and beard.

Arguably the most influential Chinese philosopher of his time, Laozi’s life reflects the ambiguity of his philosophy—mysterious and contradictory. Questions asked about the Daodejing, the Taoist script attributed to Laozi, also lead to doubts over the actual existence of Laozi himself. However, despite the uncertaintly of Laozi’s existence as a physical being, his deification as a worshiped figure in China parallels similar global religious figures which emerged during Karl Jasper’s “axial age”(Jasper 1951). As a philosopher, or deity, Laozi continues to contribute to philosophical thought, and religious worship in modern days.

Origins

The Man

The Legend

According to popular legend, Laozi was born after his mother "admired" a falling star and fell pregnant. The pregnancy laster sixty-two years before Laozi was born, under a plum tree, a fully developed elderly man, with long earlobes and white hair (Simpkins & Simpkins 1999). Laozi's origin legend has many symbolic motif's which intersect the origins of other deities and religious figures. Jesus Christ for example was born of immaculate conception, in conjunction with the appearance of a bright star in the sky (Matt 2:7-10). Siddhartha, the prince who would become the Buhdda, reached his enlightenment, or spiritual re-brith underneath a tree. His depiction with long ear-lobes was also a popular symbol of wisdom in asia which he shared with the Buddha and Confucius.

According to legend, Laozi rode a water buffalo into the Great Desert after becoming disillusioned with society.

During his life

File:Presentation Laozi.pptx -Nice job with the presentation yesterday. --Tcrale 00:17, 11 October 2012 (UTC)