Potential officials throughout Chinese history drew on the authority of non-Confucian sages, especially Laozi and
Zhuangzi, to deny serving any ruler at any time. Zhuangzi, the other founder of Taoism, had a great deal of influence on Chinese
literati and culture. Political theorists influenced by Laozi have advocated humility in leadership and a restrained approach to statecraft, either for ethical and pacifist reasons, or for tactical ends. In a different context, various
antiauthoritarian movements have embraced Laozi's teachings on the power of the weak.
Han dynasty The story of Laozi has taken on strong religious overtones since the
Han dynasty. As
Taoism took root, Laozi was worshipped as a god. Belief in the revelation of the Tao from the divine Laozi resulted in the formation of the
Way of the Celestial Masters, the first organized religious Taoist sect. In later Taoist tradition, Laozi came to be seen as a personification of the Tao. He is said to have undergone numerous "transformations" and taken on guises in various incarnations throughout history to initiate the faithful in the Way. Religious Taoism often holds that the "Old Master" did not disappear after writing the
Dào Dé Jīng but rather spent his life traveling and revealing the Tao.
Tang dynasty Due to his traditional name
Li Er, Laozi has been
venerated as the ancestor of all subsequent
Lis, and many clans of the Li family trace their descent to Laozi, including the
emperors of the
Tang dynasty. This family was known as the
Longxi Li lineage (). According to the Simpkinses, while many (if not all) of these lineages are questionable, they provide a testament to Laozi's impact on Chinese culture. Under the
Tang, Laozi received a series of
temple names of increasing grandeur. In the year 666,
Emperor Gaozong named Laozi the "Supremely Mysterious and Primordial Emperor"
Tàishàng Xuán Yuán Huángdì). In 743,
Emperor Xuanzong declared him the "
Sage Ancestor"
Shèngzǔ) of the dynasty with the posthumous title of "Mysterious and Primordial Emperor"
Xuán Yuán Huángdì). Emperor Xuanzong also elevated Laozi's parents to the ranks of "Innately Supreme Emperor"
Xiāntiān Tàishàng Huáng) and "Innate Empress"
Xiāntiān Tàihòu). In 749, Laozi was further honored as the "Sage Ancestor and Mysterious and Primordial Emperor of the Great Way"
Shèngzǔ Dàdào Xuán Yuán Huángdì) and then, in 754, as the "Great Sage Ancestor and Mysterious and Primordial Heavenly Emperor and Great Sovereign of the Golden Palace of the High and Supreme Great Way"
Dà Shèngzǔ Gāo Shǎng Dàdào Jīnquē Xuán Yuán Tiānhuáng Dàdì). A seventh-century work, the
Sandong Zhunang (; "Pearly Bag of the Three Caverns"), presents Laozi as the perfect Taoist master and a character named
Yinxi as the ideal Taoist student. Yinxi follows a formal sequence of preparation, testing, training and attainment.
Tamil Nadu In the
Siddhar tradition of
Tamil Nadu, the greatly revered Siddhar
Bhogar, one of the 18 esteemed Siddhars of yore, is believed to be Laozi and is of Chinese origin. His caste, from obscure references is noted to be "Cinatecakkuyavar" or Chinese potter. In his principal book of poetry, the
Bhogar 7000, he tells of his travels to China to spread his ideas on spirituality, specifically on the topic of sublimating the sexual energies and using said energies to become self-realised, with a spiritually-minded partner. His
Jeeva Samadhi can be found in the southwestern corridor of the
Dhandayuthapani Temple,
Palani,
Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu.
Contemporary Many contemporary philosophers have seen Laozi as a proponent of limited government. The
right-libertarian economist
Murray Rothbard suggested that Laozi was the first
libertarian, likening Laozi's ideas on government to
Friedrich Hayek's theory of
spontaneous order. James A. Dorn agreed, writing that Laozi, like many 18th-century liberals, "argued that minimizing the role of government and letting individuals develop spontaneously would best achieve social and economic harmony." Similarly, the
Cato Institute's
David Boaz includes passages from the
Dào Dé Jīng in his 1997 book
The Libertarian Reader and noted in an article for the
Encyclopædia Britannica that Laozi advocated for rulers to "do nothing" because "without law or compulsion, men would dwell in harmony." Philosopher Roderick Long argues that libertarian themes in Taoist thought are actually borrowed from earlier
Confucian writers. The
anarcho-syndicalist writer and activist
Rudolf Rocker praised Laozi's "gentle wisdom" and understanding of the opposition between political power and the cultural activities of the people and community in his 1937 book
Nationalism and Culture. In his 1910 article for the
Encyclopædia Britannica,
Peter Kropotkin also noted that Laozi was among the earliest proponents of essentially
anarchist concepts. More recently, anarchists such as John P. Clark and
Ursula K. Le Guin have written about the conjunction between anarchism and Taoism in various ways, highlighting the teachings of Laozi in particular. In her rendition of the Dào Dé Jīng, Le Guin writes that Laozi "does not see political power as magic. He sees rightful power as earned and wrongful power as usurped... He sees sacrifice of self or others as a corruption of power, and power as available to anyone who follows the Way. No wonder anarchists and Taoists make good friends." == Notes ==