History Creator / Laozi

* {{Koan}}: Though Laozi technically lived well before Zen Buddism was a thing, many of his (purported) statements are very Koan-like, including the page quote. The story of how '''Daodejing''' came about is that he went on one of his WalkingTheEarth trips (that he ultimately never returned from) and the gate guard, trying to be GenreSavvy, begged Laozi to leave behind his words for eternity. How much of this book (that begins with a preface declaring any idea which can be pinned down in concrete terms is ultimately worthless) is Laozi simply humoring a request, or being a massive {{Troll}} is up for debate.

* TheQuietOne

* WarIsHell
-->''he who delights in the slaughter of men cannot get his will in the kingdom. ''

As the quote shows, Daoism was big on TheOnlyWayTheyWillLearn. Heavily favoring peace and quietness, the ideal ruler (or ReasonableAuthorityFigure) will lead people into peace and prosperity so gently that they are unaware of his existence; a king the people proclaim is good is only second best. Politically-minded readers will recognise this as one of the earliest forms of what later became known as [[UsefulNotes/PoliticalIdeologies free-market 'Classical Liberalism']], with many Chinese states after Laozi ruling with a very 'light' touch (few taxes, little bureaucracy, etcetc). The work is also sometimes considered the UrExample or TropeMaker for UsefulNotes/{{anarchism}}, although Laozi did not ''call'' himself an anarchist (the term hadn't been invented yet). Many men have cited him as the reason why they prefer HomeSweetHome to the dangers of the DeadlyDecadentCourt.

[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/laozi_224.jpg]]

* {{Koan}}: Though Laozi technically lived well before Zen Buddism was a thing, many of his (purported) statements are very Koan-like, including the page quote. The story of how '''Daodejing''' came about is that he went on one of his WalkingTheEarth trips (that he ultimately never returned from) and the gate guard, trying to be GenreSavvy, begged Laozi to leave behind his words for eternity. How much of this book (that begins with a preface declaring any idea which can be pinned down in concrete terms is ultimately worthless) is Laozi simply humoring a request, making an AssPull, or being a massive {{Troll}} is up for debate.

As the quote shows, Daoism was big on TheOnlyWayTheyWillLearn. Heavily favoring peace and quietness, the ideal ruler (or ReasonableAuthorityFigure) will lead people into peace and prosperity so gently that they are unaware of his existence; a king the people proclaim is good is only second best. Politically-minded readers will recognise this as one of the earliest forms of what later became known as [[PoliticalIdeologies free-market 'Classical Liberalism']], with many Chinese states after Laozi ruling with a very 'light' touch (few taxes, little bureaucracy, etcetc). The work is also sometimes considered the UrExample or TropeMaker for UsefulNotes/{{anarchism}}, although Laozi did not ''call'' himself an anarchist (the term hadn't been invented yet). Many men have cited him as the reason why they prefer HomeSweetHome to the dangers of the DeadlyDecadentCourt.

Traditionally, he is said to have lived from 600 BC to 470 BC, contemperously with Creator/{{Confucius}} (hence the page quote); historians generally think he either is a mythic figure, with the ''Daodejing'' actually being a compilation, or actually lived during the Warring States period in 4th century BC.

A note on the name: Laozi (老子) is an honorific title that literally translates as "Old Master". His personal name is Li Er (李耳), his courtesy name is Boyang (trad. 伯陽, simp. 伯阳), and his posthumous name was Li Dan (李聃).

Traditionally, he is said to have lived from 600 BC to 470 BC, contemperously with Creator/{{Confucius}} (hence the page quote); historians generally think he either is a mythic figure, with the ''Daodejing'' actually being a compilation, or actually lived in 4th century BC.

Traditionally, he is said to have lived from 600 BC to 470 BC, contemperously with {{Confucius}} (hence the page quote); historians generally think he either is a mythic figure, with the ''Daodejing'' actually being a compilation, or actually lived in 4th century BC.

* ShroudedInLegend: Suffice to say, whether he was a real person at all is debatable, and he has taken on a mythical status. Confucius himself referred to him as "the Dragon" to describe him, a term that reflected wisdom and divinity.

As the quote shows, Daoism was big on TheOnlyWayTheyWillLearn. Heavily favoring peace and quietness, the ideal ruler (or ReasonableAuthorityFigure) will lead people into peace and prosperity so gently that they are unaware of his existence; a king the people proclaim is good is only second best. Politically-minded readers will recognise this as one of the earliest forms of what later became known as [[PoliticalIdeologies free-market 'Classical Liberalism']], with many Chinese states after Laozi ruling with a very 'light' touch (few taxes, little bureaucracy, etcetc). Many men have cited him as their reason why they prefer HomeSweetHome to the dangers of the DeadlyDecadentCourt.

As the quote shows, Daoism was big on TheOnlyWayTheyWillLearn. Heavily favoring peace and quietness, the ideal ruler (or ReasonableAuthorityFigure) will lead people into peace and prosperity so gently that they are unaware of his existence; a king the people proclaim is good is only second best. Many men have cited him as their reason why they prefer HomeSweetHome to the dangers of the DeadlyDecadentCourt.