"Nameless, the beginning of heaven and earth, famous, the mother of all things."
—— Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching
At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, the world was in chaos, one day, Lingbao Hangu Guan came a white-bearded old man riding a green bull, Guan Ling Yin Xi had already been waiting, he learned that Lao Tzu would come here when he was watching the heavens, and finally, at the request of Guan Ling Yin Xizhi, he wrote a book "Tao Te Ching".
Lao Tzu Thought had a profound influence on the development of Chinese philosophy, and its ideological core was simple dialectics. Politically, it advocates rule by doing nothing and teaching without saying. In the art of power, pay attention to the principle that things must be reversed. In terms of self-cultivation, the practice of paying attention to being humble and solid and not arguing with others is the ancestor of the Taoist double cultivation of life. Therefore, Lao Tzu's work "Tao Te Ching" (also known as "Lao Tzu") is one of the most widely published works in the world.
People in the world call "Lao Tzu" "Lao Tzu", just like: Confucius called Kong Qiu, Mencius called Mengke, chinese surnames, there are indeed "Lao" surnames, however, relatively rare, many scholars in modern times think that Lao Tzu is the name, but all kinds of clues in the historical records indicate that "Lao Tzu" is only his number.
It is said that Lao Tzu was born as an old man, so he was called "Lao Tzu".
The legend about the birth of Lao Tzu goes like this:
Lao Tzu is famous, Li Er, and his name is also related to a fruit. There is a debate in history about laozi's place of origin, Henan Luyi is one of Lao tzu's hometowns, there are villages in the east of the city, there are ditches, plum trees are planted on both sides of the ditch, there are families nearby, the little girl in the family is not only handsome, but also sensible, she only wants to do filial piety at home, does not want to marry.
On this day, as usual, she was washing clothes in the ditch, and she saw a plum floating on the surface of the water, and this plum grew very specially, twin, and grew together on the belly. The girl's curiosity suddenly arose, and she picked up the plum, which was shaped like two ears clasped together, yellow in the blue, and red in the yellow.
So, the girl couldn't help but take a bite, the taste was sweet and sour, she didn't care about tasting it, a few bites to eat. Who ever thought, this plum just swallowed, the girl's stomach began to toss, constantly nauseated. The girl was so uncomfortable, just at this moment a voice actually came out of her stomach: "Mother, don't worry, the child will be fine if she changes her posture and sits upright." ”
This "child" is Lao Tzu, who "sat" in his mother's belly for 9981 years. Lao Tzu told his mother-in-law at the beginning that he had eaten the plum to have him, and that his birth time was very special, and he must wait for "the day is long and strict, and the person who leads the camel comes." So, the girl waited from the age of the flower to the snow sideburns, and her child had not yet been born.
She was in a hurry, and her son always said that the time had not come out, but he did not say the reason, so she did not want to wait any longer. At this time, there was still a missing piece of the sky left in the northeast corner, so she deceived her son: "The sky is long and strict, and the camel-carrying man is coming." As soon as she finished speaking, the baby in her belly arched out of her right rib.
This baby's hair and eyebrows are white, and she has a white beard, which is obviously the appearance of a "little old man". But when this baby saw that there was no camel, he panicked. It turned out that he had to use the skin of a camel to repair his mother's right rib, and watching his mother's right rib bleeding incessantly, he had no way at this time, but just prostrated to his mother with tears: "Mother, how is this good?" ”
The mother looked away and gently comforted him: "How can I blame you?" When the mother ate the plum and had you, the plum looked like an ear, and your name would be Li Er in the future. Before I die, I have nothing else to say, it is often said that people have left their names and voices, and after the mother entered the Nine Springs, you were a good person in the earthly world, and it was not in vain that I had been pregnant with you for more than eighty years. ”
After saying this, Li Er's mother died of exhaustion. Because Li Er was born as an "old man", people called him Lao Tzu.
Of course, in addition to the above legend, there is also a legend about the birth of Lao Tzu:
It is said that Lao Tzu was born with difficulty in childbirth, but on that day, his family's courtyard was shrouded in purple qi, and Lao Tzu's mother finally cut herself with a knife, and Lao Tzu survived.
It is said that the mother left a special last word before her death: she hoped that her children would benefit the living in the future. Lao Tzu's appearance is very special, the brain gate is round, the nose bridge is high, the hair is gray, the ears are particularly large, and the name is Li Tan (聃 and ear synonymous). It is said that the year of his birth was the Year of the Tiger, and everyone called him "Tanuki" (folk name), and over time he became "Li Er".
There is also a saying about lao tzu's name:
When he was born, he was the image of a white-haired old man, so his mother directly named him "Lao Tzu". Lao Tzu spoke when he was born, pointing to a plum tree: "Li is my last name." ”
Lao Tzu left behind the remarkable Tao Te Ching, but did not leave his own details, causing posterity to fight a lot of quarrels. The Tang Dynasty Emperor Li Family actually spoke directly: Lao Tzu was the ancestor of the Old Li Family, and he also posthumously sealed him one after another. In the mythological system, there are also more Taishang Laojun, and Lao Tzu is the embodiment of Laojun.
In fact, whether Lao Tzu was born as an old man, the posterity is not too real, the 5,000 words he left behind, has made people see another scene between this heaven and earth, who will really care about his appearance? Perhaps, such a statement can be in line with a certain imagination, just like when he rode away with a green bull, he should be a little different.
However, many people do not like Lao Tzu's "birth and inaction", in fact, lao tzu's "inaction" is not inaction, but to adapt to changes in the environment, is a kind of homeopathy, just like water can change its "shape" according to the container, which is actually consistent with the "unity of heaven and man" in traditional Chinese culture: everything must conform to the law to truly have vitality.
In traditional Chinese culture, the old man is not only a symbol of longevity, but also a symbol of wisdom, so in so many stories, the image of Lao Tzu is always the appearance of an old man.
Resources:
【Tao Te Ching", "General History of China"】