First philosopher of Chinese Taoism

The philosophy of Taoism is expounded in a book written over two thousand years ago and known as The Tao Te Ching.

According to Chinese tradition, the author of this book was a man called Lao Tzu, who is said to have been an older contemporary of Confucius.

Though the exact details are unknown, according to some sources, Lao Tzu was born, and lived in northern China. For part of his life, he was an historian or curator of official archives, most probably at Loyang, the capital of the Chou dynasty monarchs. Lao Tzu was not his original name, but is rather, an honorific title meaning roughly 'old master'.

In this book, Lao Tzu describes his belief that the world order is based on the Tao (the way or path) that one follows in life. This path is in fact the 'natural order'. Humans should strive for a balanced relationship between themselves and nature.

Lao Tzu was highly regarded in his own time and became influential to succeeding generations of theologians.

Tags: Chinese Taoism, Taoism, philosophy of Taoism, philosopher of Chinese Taoism, Lao Tzu, Chou dynasty, The Tao Te Ching