Laozi is the traditional founder of Daoism and the figure credited with composing the Dao De Jing.
Traditional accounts describe Laozi as a sixth-century BC Chinese philosopher who served as an archivist for the Zhou royal court. In the best-known story, he met Confucius, later left civilization, and wrote the Dao De Jing before disappearing beyond the western frontier.
The name Laozi means “Old Master.” The Dao De Jing, also called the Tao Te Ching, is a compact collection of poetic teachings about the Dao, naturalness, simplicity, and wu wei, or action that avoids forceful interference.
Modern historians treat the biography of Laozi cautiously. The text may have been compiled during the Warring States period by multiple writers, and some scholars question whether the historical Laozi existed exactly as tradition describes. Even so, Laozi remains the canonical answer because Daoism’s foundational tradition is centered on him.