Laozi

6th-century BC semi-legendary Chinese philosopher, founder of Taoism
Person human_whose_existence_is_disputed Q9333
Laozi
Zhang Lu · Public Domain · Wikimedia
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Laozi

Summary

Laozi is a human whose existence is disputed[1]. He was born in Chu[2]. He was born on January 1, 604 BC[3]. He died on 500 BC[4]. He worked as a philosopher[5], archivist[6], writer[7], and Taoist[8]. He has Wikipedia articles in 30 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[9]

Key Facts

  • Laozi was born in Chu[2].
  • Laozi's place of birth was Zhoukou[10].
  • Laozi was born on January 1, 604 BC[3].
  • Laozi was born on 579 BC[11].
  • Laozi was born on 571 BC[12].
  • Laozi died on 500 BC[4].
  • Laozi's father was Li Jing[13].
  • Laozi's mother was Xiantian[14].
  • A child of Laozi was Li Zong[15].
  • Laozi held citizenship in Zhou dynasty[16].
  • Laozi's professions included philosopher[5].
  • Laozi worked as an archivist[6].
  • Laozi's professions included writer[7].
  • Laozi's professions included Taoist[8].
  • Laozi's field of work was philosophy[17].
  • Laozi's field of work was Chinese philosophy[18].
  • A notable work attributed to Laozi is Tao Te Ching[19].
  • Laozi's religion is recorded as Taoism[20].
  • Laozi is recorded as male[21].
  • Laozi's instance of is recorded as human whose existence is disputed[22].
  • Laozi's instance of is recorded as human[23].
  • Laozi is associated with the Taoism movement[24].
  • Laozi is associated with the Eastern philosophy movement[25].
  • Laozi is associated with the Hundred Schools of Thought movement[26].
  • Laozi's Commons category is recorded as Laozi[27].

Body

Origins and Family

Recorded place of birth include Chu[2], an ancient Chinese state[28], in Western Zhou[29], founded in -0722[30] and Zhoukou[10], a prefecture-level city[31], in People's Republic of China[32]. Recorded date of birth include January 1, 604 BC[3], 579 BC[11], and 571 BC[12]. Laozi's father was Li Jing[13]. His mother was Xiantian[14].

Career and Affiliations

Recorded occupations include philosopher[5], archivist[6], writer[7], and Taoist[8]. Fields of work include philosophy[17], an academic discipline[33] and Chinese philosophy[18], a branch of philosophy[34].

Works and Contributions

A notable work attributed to Laozi is Tao Te Ching[19]. Things named for him include 7854 Laotse[35], an asteroid[36].

Personal Life

A child of Laozi was Li Zong[15]. His religion is recorded as Taoism[20].

Death and Burial

Laozi died on 500 BC[4].

Why It Matters

Laozi has Wikipedia articles in 30 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[9] He is known by 63 alternative names across languages and contexts.[37]

He has been cited as an influence by Emil Cioran[38], a philosopher[39], 1911–1995[40], of Romania[41], specialised in philosophy[42]; Ursula K. Le Guin[43], a writer[44], 1929–2018[45], of United States[46], awarded the Margaret Edwards Award[47], specialised in fiction[48]; Zhuang Zhou[49], a philosopher[50], -0369–-0288[51], of Song[52], specialised in philosophy[53]; and Erich Fromm[54], a university teacher[55], 1900–1980[56], of German Empire[57], awarded the Humanist of the Year[58], specialised in philosophy[59].

Works attributed to him include Tao Te Ching[60], a literary work[61] and Qingjing Jing[62], a text[63]. Entities named for him include 7854 Laotse[35], an asteroid[36].

FAQs

Where was Laozi born?

Laozi was born in Chu[2].

Who were Laozi's parents?

Laozi's father was Li Jing[13]. Laozi's mother was Xiantian[14].

What did Laozi do for work?

Laozi worked as philosopher[5], archivist[6], writer[7], and Taoist[8].

Who did Laozi influence?

Laozi has been cited as an influence by Emil Cioran[38], Ursula K. Le Guin[43], Zhuang Zhou[49], and Erich Fromm[54].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] . wikidata.org.
  2. [10] . wikidata.org.
  3. [21] . New Book of Tang. wikidata.org.
  4. [13] . wikidata.org.
  5. [14] . wikidata.org.
  6. [16] . wikidata.org.
  7. [22] . New Book of Tang. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  8. [23] . wikidata.org.
  9. [15] . New Book of Tang. wikidata.org.
  10. [17] . wikidata.org.
  11. [18] . wikidata.org.
  12. [5] . The Fine Art Archive. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  13. [6] . The Fine Art Archive. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  14. [7] . Library of the World's Best Literature. wikidata.org.
  15. [8] . wikidata.org.
  16. [24] . wikidata.org.
  17. [25] . wikidata.org.
  18. [26] . wikidata.org.
  19. [20] . wikidata.org.
  20. [27] . wikidata.org.
  21. [3] . wikidata.org.
  22. [11] . general catalog of BnF. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  23. [12] . wikidata.org.
  24. [4] . wikidata.org.
  25. [19] . wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

  1. [38] . wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [43] . wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [49] . wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [54] . wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [60] . wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [62] . wikidata.org. → on this site
  7. [35] . wikidata.org. → on this site

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [28] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [29] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [30] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [31] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [32] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [33] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  7. [34] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  8. [39] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  9. [40] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  10. [41] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  11. [42] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  12. [44] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  13. [45] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  14. [46] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  15. [47] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  16. [48] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  17. [50] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  18. [51] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  19. [52] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  20. [53] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  21. [55] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  22. [56] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  23. [57] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  24. [58] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  25. [59] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  26. [61] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  27. [63] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  28. [36] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Class ancestry

  1. [1] . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [9] . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  2. [37] . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Laozi. Retrieved April 10, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/laozi
MLA “Laozi.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 10 Apr. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/laozi.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_laozi_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Laozi}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/laozi}, note = {Accessed: 2026-04-10}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Laozi — https://4ort.xyz/entity/laozi (retrieved 2026-04-10)

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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 8d ago · Printstream · 2026-06-26 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14536 345643
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ [[Property:P14536]]: 345643, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1782462304762"
  2. 19d ago · Bargioni · 2026-06-15 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Place of birth Chu, Zhoukou
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/36438|batch #36438]]: add P1810 to P5504 (RISM persons)"
  3. 19d ago · ~2026-35089-41 · 2026-06-15 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Place of birth Chu, Zhoukou
    "/* wbsetclaim-update:2||1 */ [[Property:P19]]: [[Q13045]]"
  4. 22d ago · Jindřich Rubeš · 2026-06-12 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Svkkl authority id p0038095-Laozi-604-pr-Kr531-pr-Kr
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ [[Property:P9322]]: p0038095-Laozi-604-pr-Kr531-pr-Kr, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/259497|batch #259497]]"
  5. 26d ago · Bargioni · 2026-06-08 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Isni 0000000447219093
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/35587|batch #35587]]: add P1810 to P8034"
  6. 4w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-31 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Isni 0000000447219093
    "/* wbremoveclaims-remove:1| */ [[Property:P213]]: 0000000447219093"
  7. 7w ago · Charp238 · 2026-05-16 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Pixiv encyclopedia id 老子
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ [[Property:P11408]]: 老子"
  8. 7w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-15 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Cerl thesaurus id cnp00395586
    "/* wbremoveclaims-remove:1| */ [[Property:P1871]]: cnp00395586, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/257929|batch #257929]]"
  9. 7w ago · Mzaki · 2026-05-13 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Mother Xiantian
    "/* wbsetclaim-update:2||1 */ [[Property:P25]]: unknown value"
  10. 7w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-13 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Cerl thesaurus id cnp00395586
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/30853|batch #30853]]: match CERL IDs on the basis of GND (8)"
  11. 7w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-11 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Parsifal cluster id 149605
    Viaf cluster id 101089774, 4843153063196819320001, 294097641 +5
    "/* wbremoveclaims-remove:1| */ [[Property:P214]]: 100199971"
  12. 7w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-11 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Parsifal cluster id 149605
    Local thumb
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:1||1 */ [[Property:P12458]]: 295055, Matched to [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/entry/161156529|Lao-Tzu (#161156529)]] in [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/catalog/6216|Parsifal persons]] #mix'"
  13. 8w ago · Bargioni · 2026-05-07 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Local thumb
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/30469|batch #30469]]: add P1810 to P5739 3/3"
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