In Sima Qian's Biography of Lao Fei, three Laozi were recorded:
Laozi, a native of Qurenli, Chu County, surnamed Li, whose name is Zizi, is Zhou Shoucang's history book. Confucius is suitable for Zhou and will ask Lao Tzu questions.
Laozi said, "A son's bones are rotten, and his words speak for himself. A gentleman should drive at the right time, not when he is tired. I heard that Liang Jia is hiding in Xu Ruo. A gentleman is very virtuous and looks like a fool. Get rid of children's arrogance and lust, attitude and lust are bad for children's health. That's why I sued my son, if it is. " Confucius went and said to his disciples, "bird, I know it can fly;" Fish, I know it can swim; Beast, I know it can walk. Pedestrians can be useless, swimmers can be nylon, and fliers can be clumsy. As for the dragon, I didn't know it took the wind and cloud to heaven. I met Lao Tzu today, and he is still evil! " Laozi cultivates self-cultivation, and his knowledge is to hide himself in unknown places. After living in Zhou for a long time, I saw Zhou's decline and went. At the critical moment, Ming Yin said, "I'll hide and write a book for me." So Lao Tzu wrote a book about morality with more than 5,000 words, and he didn't know what his end was.
Or: Lao Laizi, also a native of Chu, wrote 15 books, which were used by Taoism and contemporary with Confucius. Lao Zi Gai is over 60 years old, or over 200 years old, and lives by practicing Buddhism.
One hundred and twenty-nine years after the death of Confucius, Grandmaster Zhou, a historian, said, "The early Qin Dynasty and Zhou He died at the age of five hundred. At the age of 70, the overlord can't do it. " Or Lao Tzu, or not, the world doesn't know whether it's true or not. Laozi, a hermit.
During the period of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, the question of Laozi's true identity has been blurred. Sima Qian wrote down three materials truthfully, and finally he could only draw the only definite conclusion:
Laozi, a hermit.
Therefore, before the first question can be answered and the rest can be answered, they should take pains to prove that they think Lao Tzu is the real Lao Tzu in history.
The first point can not be discussed, and the second point can be discussed, because the book Laozi is certain, no matter which Laozi, in short, we do have this book handed down from generation to generation. Of course, it is difficult for us to know the original intention of writing this book in order to solve the problem of who Laozi is. Most scholars believe that Laozi is also a book to govern the world according to the general environment of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. But there are also a few people who think this is a book about personal cultivation; There are even a few scholars who think that Laozi was not written by one person, but may be just a manual compiled by an ancient motto. In short, opinions vary.
So what role did Laozi play in the process of inheritance? Undeniably, Lao Zi received official attention in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, and applied it to the process of governing the country and keeping the country safe. Subsequently, the appearance of the official seal sentence on the river in Laozi pointed the truth to the problem of self-cultivation, and vaguely showed the clue of self-cultivation of the debutante. In the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Yan Zun wrote another chapter of Laozi, which was about the unity of self-cultivation and governing the country. Emperor Huan of the Eastern Han Dynasty worshipped Laozi for the first time because he believed in immortal Taoism. Later, during the period of Wei Wendi, when Cao Pi returned to his hometown, he passed by the Laozi Temple and saw that he was in a depressed state, so he wrote a letter to repair it. Wang Bi, a wizard in the Jin Dynasty, made a comment on Laozi, which became the talk of metaphysics. Later, with the establishment of Taoism, Laozi was regarded as one of the wonderful classics of health preservation and self-cultivation, and Laozi (note: no one knows who Laozi is) also became famous in Taoism and was recognized as a fairy.
In the Tang Dynasty, Li took Laozi as his ancestor, which not only separated the biographies of Laozi and Han Fei from the historical records and placed them at the top of the seventy biographies, but also respected Laozi as the Tao Te Ching, and Laozi himself was also honored as Xuanyuan Emperor. And the mastermind of all this, Emperor Li Zhi, personally offered sacrifices to Lao Tzu for many times. Later, on the anniversary of Wu, Wu Zetian gave Laozi's mother the title of "Congenital Empress Dowager", which anyone with a discerning eye could see. This is Wu Zetian's own situation, and I am the natural empress dowager of your Li family. This time, as political material, I was played again.
In the Tang Dynasty, because Buddhism and Taoism flourished side by side and fought with each other, Lao Zi became a disciple of Sakyamuni and a teacher of Sakyamuni. After the Five Dynasties, Shu emphasized Taoism, and Lao Zi's position was respected again. Later, in the Song Dynasty, what Quanzhen religion was established one after another, and the Song Dynasty itself believed in Taoism, so Lao Zi finally got the honor of "being too old to be a gentleman and going to Germany to be emperor".
The Yuan Dynasty was established, presided over by the emperor, and there was a big debate on Buddhism and Taoism. As a result, Taoism was defeated by Buddhism, and Yuan Di ordered the burning of all Taoist scriptures except Tao Te Ching. In the Ming Dynasty, because there were such a group of emperors who liked taking drugs but were not old, Tao Te Ching became the work of Dante School again. With the prosperity of Pu Xue in Qing Dynasty, it is necessary to re-examine the words in Tao Te Ching.
Later, the English version of Tao Te Ching was translated by the West, and Laozi was listed as one of the top ten thinkers in the world.
Looking at the attitude of future generations towards Laozi, there are advantages, subordination, flattery, criticism, smearing, contempt and awe. "Lao Zi" has long said: Good words are not beautiful, and good words are not believed. I repeat: Tao can be Tao, which is extraordinary.