老子

老子

老子，姓李名耳，相传为春秋时期陈国（今河南省周口市鹿邑县）人，著名思想家与哲学家，道家学派创始人和主要代表，被尊为“道祖”，入选“世界百位历史名人”。

老子建立了以“道”为中心的学说，认为“道”是天地万物的根源，“德”是事物自身的本性，“道”为体、“德”为用。老子思想的核心是朴素辩证法，认为世界上的任何事物都是相比较而存在的，相互对立的两个方面实际上是相互包含、相互渗透的，即“你中有我，我中有你”，并非一成不变。他在政治上主张小国寡民、无为而治，在修身方面讲求虚心实腹、不与人争的修持。

老子所著的《道德经》，以哲学意义之“道德”为纲宗，论述修身、治国、用兵、养生之道，文意深奥，内涵广博，对中国传统哲学、科学、政治、宗教等领域产生了深刻影响，还被译为几十种文字在世界范围内传播，成为全人类的宝贵精神财富。 

老子的“道法自然”“无为而无不为”“上善若水”“以百姓心为心”等学说，深刻影响着中国人的哲学观念和思维方式。河南省周口市鹿邑县设有纪念老子的太清宫和传承与弘扬老子学说的“老子学院”，被称为“中国老子文化之乡”。

Lao Zi

Lao Zi, whose real name is Li Er, is a renowned Chinese thinker and philosopher. Allegedly born in the State of Chen (present-day Luyi County of Zhoukou, Henan Province) in the Spring and Autumn Period, he is the founder and chief representative of Daoism and is revered as the Daoist progenitor. He is included in The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History.

Lao Zi created theories centered on dao (the Way). He believed that dao is the origin of all things in the universe while de (virtue) is their inherent nature, the former being the essence and the latter being the manifestation. The core of Lao Zi's theories is naive dialectics. He held that everything in the world exists by comparison and two opposing aspects are actually interconnected and permeate each other through constant changes. Politically, Lao Zi advocated small states with small populations and governance through non-action; and personally, he advocated controlling one's desires, remaining indifferent to worldly gain, and not contending with others.

Dao De Jing (Classic of the Way and Virtue), authored by Lao Zi, is centered on dao and de in their philosophical sense. It is a wide-ranging, recondite monograph on the principles of self-cultivation, state governance, deployment of troops, and physical fitness, exerting profound influences on China's traditional philosophy, science, politics, and religions. It has been translated into dozens of languages and circulated all over the world as a valuable cultural asset of humanity.

Many of Lao Zi's ideas, such as "letting things take their natural course," "action through non-action," "great virtue is like water," and "doing what the people wish," have immensely influenced Chinese people's philosophical concepts and way of thinking. A Taiqing Palace (Palace of Heaven) in memorial of Lao Zi and a Lao Zi Institute advocating his theories are built in Luyi County, the hometown of Daoist culture.