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Lao Tzu, surname Li Ming'er, character 聃. In fact, "聃" is "ear", and the two are synonymous.
Since Lao Tzu's surname is Li, why not call it Lizi, because in ancient times, "Lao" and "Li" were homophonous. That's right, Lee is old, and old is Lee.
Therefore, there are more names of Lao Tzu, and Lao Er, Li Er, Lao Er, and Li Nie can be mixed and called.
There are also many people studying Lao Tzu in ancient and modern China and abroad. In modern times, as close as Japan and South Korea, as far as Europe and the United States, and even Oceania have come to study Lao Tzu. How does it feel? All thumbs up. But what's so good about it? I can't say it.
In fact, Lao Tzu's thought is nothing more than a "Tao" word. And just this one Word of The Word, it brightens the starry sky of Chinese thoughts.
The ancient Chinese thought consisted of nothing more than three schools, namely Confucianism and Taoism, and modern people are basically the same, of course, they are also mixed with Western thought.
Confucianism is naturally Confucianism, and if it is active and enterprising, it is natural to join the WTO. Shi is a Buddhist family, the four great voids are naturally born. And Taoism is very interesting, one foot is outside the door of birth, and the other foot is left in the door of entry.
To use an analogy, Confucianism is the staple food of the Chinese spirit, equivalent to rice and flour. Shijia thought is equivalent to a department store's side food, and it is bought on demand. Taoist thought is equivalent to a pharmacy, only come when you are sick, such as the nerves are too tight, sub-health, you have to come to the pharmacy to open a little calm and replenish brain fluid. Therefore, in history, many dynasties have used Taoist ideas to correct the chaos.
Why does Lao Tzu's thought have the effect of correcting chaos? Because Lao Tzu advocated femininity.
This idea is of the same origin as the I Ching, and both originate from the ancient origin of our Chinese culture.
What does feminine mean? Be flexible. To accomplish a thing, go with the flow, be spontaneous and natural, not be strong, and reluctantly do it.
For example, "The good is like water, and the water is good for all things without dispute." Another example is "Husbands and wives are not in dispute, so the world cannot compete with them." ”
And the ancestors and grandsons of the Bing family actually belong to the Taoists, such as "the good who wins a hundred battles and a hundred victories is not good, and the good man who yields to the soldiers who do not fight is good." ”
Lao Tzu, also known as the Tao Te Ching, has only about 5,000 words. Why so few? Because Lao Tzu did not advocate writing a book, "The Tao is the Tao, the Extraordinary Tao." Lao Tzu believed that wise people must be taciturn, because the essence of thought is often inexpressible in words.
But Lao Tzu still slapped himself and left these five thousand words. To this end, Bai Juyi once wrote a poem and joked with Lao Tzu: "It is better to speak than to know the silent, and I have heard this language in Lao Jun." If the Dao Laojun is a knower, why did he write five thousand texts. ”
In fact, Bai Juyi also understood that the reason why Lao Tzu left these five thousand words was really helpless.
According to historical records, Lao Tzu crossed the quicksand in the west in his later years, crossed the north of Xinjiang, and went all the way through the desert to the western region.
While crossing the Hangu Pass, he met Yin Xi, the chief of the pass. Yin Xi would look forward to it, and early in the morning he saw purple qi coming from the guan valley. So judging, it is a saint who has come! He made up his mind that he had to ask him for help. Therefore, when he saw Lao Tzu, he pestered him and asked him to write some works as a condition for his release.
Lao Tzu had no choice but to agree. In this way, he wrote about 5,000 words, named "Tao Te Ching", the first part called "Dao Jing", and the next part called "De Jing".
After that, the Taoist school was passed down in this way, from Lao Tzu to Yin Zi, and then to Huzi, Liezi, and Zhuangzi.
In the Tang Dynasty, because the emperor's surname was Li and he recognized LaoZi as the ancestor, Taoism became the state religion, and the book "Lao Tzu" became the first of the Three Classics of Taoism.
What are the three sutras of Taoism? That is, Lao Tzu is the Tao Te Ching, Zhuangzi is the Nanhua Jing, and Liezi is the Chong Xu Jing.
How to interpret the Tao Te Ching is difficult and difficult. But I'd love to give it a try and wait for my next time.