Laozi
Laozi was a thinker-philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) in Chinese history.

Laozi was a man from the State of Chu who was probably born before Confucius by scores of years. He had been a low-ranking official in the palace of the Zhou Dynasty and his job was to look after the library.

While he was at the job, he engaged in philosophical studies and came to the conclusion that the universe consisted of sky, earth, humanity and what he called "principles" or "ways" for which he coined the term dao. According to him, dao is a priori, from which everything else in universe is derived. According to him, all things are governed by objective natural laws. A man may live or die. A thing may be big or small. And a human being can be handsome or ugly. These are contradictions and yet depend on each other. That is to say, without life there is no death; without bigness, there is no smallness; and without beauty, there is no ugliness. Furthermore, bad things can often turn into good things and it is also true the other way round. However, Laozi was opposed to seeking change through conflict and believed in the world and hoped that man would become as simple-minded as was possible and be easily contented.

In his last years, Laozi grew very much discontented with the actual conditions of society. He felt a strong nostalgia for the primitive society of bygone days and hoped for a return to the social conditions of that time so that people could live in a world without war and without disparity between the rich and the poor. So he decided to leave the palace job and live the secluded life of a recluse.

Later, Laozi committed to paper an essay of more than 5,000 words, which was given the title Dao De Jing (Taoist Teachings of Laozi), often shortened to Laozi. That is why he is considered as the founder of Taoism in China.

By the time of what in Chinese history is called the Period of the Warring States (475-221 BC), Taoist thinking or philosophy was inherited and developed by a scholar named Zhuang Zhou, who was often referred to as Zhuangzi. Hence the two names often go together as Lao Zhuang. The philosophy and literary works of Lao Zhuang have had a far-reaching influence all through the feudal age of China.

Taoism
Tao, in Dao de jing, means the way of ultimate reality, which exists beyond the physical sense of men. Tao is also the way of the universe. It moves in endless cycles and never changes. All life comes from it, but nothing produced by Tao lasts forever. Tao also refers to the way man should order his life to keep it in line with the natural order of the universe.

Taoists reject self-assertiveness, competition, and ambition. They are indifferent to things like rank, profuse luxury, and vulgar show. They would make friends with nature rather than conquer or dominate it.

Taoism was indigenous to the Han nationality. it originated around the 2nd century A.D. Zhang Daoling is credited as its founder. Lao Zi is regarded as its master and his work Dao de jing (Classic of the Way of Power) is its main doctrine. By the 14th century, Taoism had been divided into many sects. From the 14th century it developed into two main philosophies: Quanzhen Tao, emphasizing self-cultivation to attain immortality and Zhengyi Tao, involving belief in charms and spells. It began to decline in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD). in 1949, there were about 20,000 Taoist temples with 40,000 believers.