Citizens of Quanzhou in Fujian Province commemorate Lao Zi before his 1,000-year-old statue.	The portrait of Lao Zi commonly seen in Taoist temples.	The plaque inscribed with the "Non-Action" (Wu Wei) principle of Lao Zi's philosophy that hangs in the Hall of Union in the Palace Museum.

The Hangu Pass, 15 kilometers north of Lingbao City in Henan Province, was one of China's earliest military fortifications. It guarded the sole path, through deep gorges flanked by steep mountains, to the political and economic center of ancient China.

The four gate towers on top of its tall, stoutly built rampart ensured, as Chinese ancients stated, that: "As long as one man guards the pass, ten thousand cannot breach it."

The stone statue of Laozi (Lao-tse) astride an ox that now stands in front of it is the keynote of the old tale linking the Hangu Pass with China's greatest thinker.

Chance Creation of a Literary Classic

Laozi witnessed the inexorable disintegration of the Zhou Dynasty (770-256 BC). His philosophy on life and its purpose ran counter to that of the ruling clique and, as such, went unheeded. Realizing that staying any longer in the capital was pointless, Laozi resigned his post as government official in charge of the state library and archive and decided to head westward, via the Hangu Pass. His intention was to find a peaceful, secluded place in which to live out his remaining years.
Laozi's academic excellence and profound wisdom made him famous throughout the country. After visiting Laozi for the first time, Confucius, the master's younger contemporary, said of him: "As for birds, I know they are able to fly; as for fish, I know they are able to swim; as for beasts, I know they are able to run. What runs can be stopped with nets, what swims can be stopped with fishing lines, and what flies can be stopped with arrows. As for dragons, I have no idea of their ascending to heaven by wind and clouds. Today I met Laozi, who's just like a dragon!"

Laozi's decision to leave his longstanding post was one that caused consternation within the literary classes, not least to Yin Xi, director of the Hangu Pass. He was a man of letters totally in accord with Laozi's philosophy who, when he heard that Laozi was heading towards Hangu, daily ascended the gate tower and awaited him. His vigilance was rewarded on the day he saw Laozi in the distance, riding an ox towards the pass.

Yin Xi greeted Laozi with all the pomp and ritual that might be expected of a disciple receiving his master. Laozi was touched, but completely taken aback by the request that Yin Xi eventually made of him; that of setting down his philosophy in writing for the benefit of later generations. Laozi disapproved of books as a means of disseminating his ideas, believing that "Men of knowledge do not preach, and those that preach are not men of knowledge." Yin Xi, however, persisted and eventually won Laozi over. It is not clear whether Laozi relented because he was moved by the commander's belief in him or because he saw it as the only way of continuing on his journey westward. In any event, he wrote a 5,000-character monograph on his profound cosmic theory at one sitting. In it, he speaks of dao -- the way, and de -- virtue. The book has since been referred to as the Dao De Jing, or Book of the Way and Its Virtues. Upon finishing the work, Laozi continued on his way westward. Where he eventually made his home and ended his days is unknown.

The Elusive Laozi

The Chinese historian Sima Qian (circa 145-90 BC) spent 18 years on his seminal 520,000-character masterpiece Records of the Historian. The work contains priceless information on historic figures and events from Chinese antiquity. Yet it contains just 450 characters on Laozi. Little was known about the sage, despite his having lived just a few centuries earlier, to the extent that his date of birth was uncertain. The record states: "Some say he lived for 160 years, and others that he lived to be 200." Sima Qian obviously doubted the veracity of Laozi's reported longevity, his recorded conclusion being that Laozi "achieved a long life span through self-cultivation of Dao." But the Records clearly states that Laozi wrote the Dao De Jing at the Hangu Pass and that he met with Confucius on more than one occasion.

Laozi was born in Kuxian County (present-day Luyi County in Henan Province) in the State of Chu during the Zhou Dynasty (11th century-476 B.C.), according to Sima Qian. His family name was Li his personal name Er, and he was known as Dan. Later historical documents also mention Laozi, some honoring him as founder of Taoism, others identifying him as a celestial immortal named Taishang Laojun (Supreme Master). The diversity of descriptions of Laozi and his attributes indicates the scarcity of information about him, possibly due to his successful avoidance of public attention.

Laozi is the respectful form of address for this great philosopher and also refers to his sole written work, the Dao De Jing.

A Controversial View of the Universe

Prior to Laozi, the received concept of the universe was that of heaven, the earth and man, one that gave rise to a wealth of myths and legends. It was generally believed that the cosmos was originally an undefined entity in a continuous state of flux. When the deity, Pan Gu, suddenly appeared at its midst and cleaved the chaos into two halves with a huge ax, pure, clear elements ascended to form the heavens and the rest became the earth. The earth's human, animal and plant life was created by later gods and deities.

Laozi did not accept the Pan Gu theory of creation. His view of the universe, as expressed in the Dao De Jing, is one based on the laws of nature. He believed in an intangible force, whose continuous, self-generating motion is expressed in cyclical renewal, that is at the root of all that exists in the universe. He identified the force as Dao -- the essence of his philosophy, and a term that appears 74 times in his 5,000-character Dao De Jing. Laozi conceived of Dao as the eternal, omnipresent origin and law of the universe and life within it. He said, "Man models himself after earth, earth models itself after heaven, heaven models itself after Dao, and Dao models itself after Nature." He warned: "Heaven and the earth know no benevolence" -- his way of saying that no living being under the governance of Dao and nature merits special privileges.

The Dao Philosophy

As Dao is the root and core of Laozi's philosophy it is referred to as Daoism (Taoism). It, along with Confucianism and Legalism, is one of the three pillars of Chinese thought.

Laozi conceived of Dao as the phenomenon of change and reversal, in the sense of birth, growth and renewal. He believed in two opposite but complementary forces -- Yin and Yang - that are exercised by everything in the universe: the hard and soft, strong and weak, long and short, high and low, and front and back. He said, "Something and nothing grow out of one another; difficulty and ease produce one another; long and short offset one another; high and low lean on one another; sound and voice harmonize with one another; and front and back follow one another." His best-known paradox in this vein is: "Good fortune lies within bad, and bad fortune lurks within good." These pairs of opposites coexist, as none can be without the other. But neither remains unchanged and might, depending on the circumstances, transform into their opposite.

The idea of something and nothing, substance and void, is another fundamental aspect of Laozi's philosophy. He said, "Everything in the universe is born of substance, which is born of a void." Substance evolves from non-existence into existence, gradually accumulating strength and magnitude until reaches an apex, after which it declines, dies and is renewed. This is the eternal law of nature. The void is thus the beginning and end of everything in the universe. Grass and trees, for example, grow lush, tall and luxuriant from tiny seeds, then whither, decay, die, leaving seeds behind them, so fulfilling the cycle of transformation from void to substance back to void.

The Virtue of Governance

Half of the Dao De Jing is devoted to Dao and the other half to De. Dao can be secularly termed as the way or direction, and De as virtue or morality -- the manner in which the way should be trodden. In other words, De is the manifestation of Dao, the ideal state of mind and norm of conduct that men should attain if they are to follow the law of Dao, nature and the universe.

Laozi tried to clarify De by using the example of water, whose virtue he compared with a sage. "The highest virtue is like water, which benefits all the creatures in the universe, yet claims nothing for itself, and which is content with the places that all men disdain. This is what that renders water close to Dao."

He explained De with many other examples, for instance as the macro concept of governance of the state and the micro matter of keeping healthy. He also compared the virtue of governing a big country with that of cooking a small fish. When a fish is being cooked it must be turned over, but not arbitrarily or its wholeness will be spoiled. Governing a country is more complicated than cooking a fish but the basic idea is the same: neither the governor nor the cook may act on impulse; both must observe the actual laws of nature.

"Governance by non-action" is Laozi's cardinal principle of government. He said, "When nothing is done, nothing is left undone." He exhorted rulers to curb desire and greed and forbear from making social changes or exploiting the people's labor for personal gain. He said that as long as state law and regulations are observed, national stability and security are maintained. Emperors Wendi and Jingdi of the early Han Dynasty both ruled according to this principle with beneficial results. The resultant prosperity of the rules of these two emperors was named that of the "Wen and Jing Governance."

The Way to Health

Sima Qian did not say to what age Laozi lived, but as Confucius lived to be 72 and Laozi was 30 years his senior, it may be assumed that he was a centenarian. This longevity was doubtless the result of practicing his theories on maintaining good health.

Laozi's recipe for health is psychological well being, stemming from respect for others and the environment, and a healthy diet. He said, "There are three virtues that I treasure and observe: benevolence; frugality; and modesty." Chinese health gurus have advocated adherence to these principles, wherein moral cultivation is a prerequisite for physical health, throughout the centuries. Laozi's stringent moral and physical regimens are also aspects of traditional Chinese medicine. The Internal Medicine of the Yellow Emperor, the earliest medical work in China, contains the prescriptions "indifference to worldly gains" and "staying free from ambition and desire," both of which are obviously legacies of Laozi.

Lao Zi's theory of a healthy diet has three main principles. The first is that of eating to please the stomach rather than the eyes. One fills the stomach in order to live, but the stomach has a limit and the eyes do not. Wanting whatever delicacies they see, they engender desire and greed. Eating according to the dictates of the eyes is hence detrimental to the stomach and to the health in general. Laozi said that those who eat to satisfy the stomach intend to nourish their body, while those that eat whatever that pleases their eyes are bound to do it harm.

The second principle is that of the "Five tastes (gourmet food) that ruin the sense of taste." Laozi said that the deliciousness of gourmet dishes palls if they are eaten to excess, and that greater appreciation of them, and better health, comes from keeping to a daily balanced diet of plain food.

The third principle is "Savor the tasteless." It advocates sampling foods whose flavor is unenhanced, such as edible wild herbs and pumpkin. They have their own subtle flavors that give the feeling of being close to nature.

It's astonishing that this Chinese sage, whose very existence is still a matter of debate, could still wield such influence and that his view of the cosmos makes such perfect sense. Birth, maturity, decline, death and renewal are the obvious cycle of constructed things as well as organic beings. Behavior that takes into consideration the good of the whole is bound to engender a sense of satisfaction. And eating a balanced diet cannot but bring benefit, if only because it avoids the unpleasant aftereffects of excessively rich and highly spiced foods. Yet despite today's universal acknowledgement of Laozi's wisdom, the desire for instant, individual gratification is as rampant and commonplace today as it was two and a half millennia ago.