A central figure in Chinese culture, Laozi is generally considered the founder of Taoism. He was claimed and revered as the ancestor of the Tang dynasty (618–907) and is similarly honored in modern China as the progenitor of the popular surname Li. In some sects of Taoism, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, and Chinese folk religion, it is held that he then became an immortal hermit. Certain Taoist devotees held that the Tao Te Ching was the avatarembodied as a bookof the god Laojun, one of the Three Pure Ones of the Taoist pantheon, though few philosophers believe this.
A central figure in Chinese culture, Laozi is generally considered the founder of Taoism. He was claimed and revered as the ancestor of the Tang dynasty (618–907) and is similarly honored in modern China as the progenitor of the popular surname Li. In some sects of Taoism, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, and Chinese folk religion, it is held that he then became an immortal hermit. C.ertain Taoist devotees held that the Tao Te Ching was the avatarembodied as a bookof the god Laojun, one of the Three Pure Ones of the Taoist pantheon, though few philosophers believe this.