Laozi's philosophy occupies an important position in the history of China's thoughts, and many later philosophers have been influenced by it to varying degrees. Since the Han Dynasty, there have been more than a thousand kinds of annotations about Laozi, which are rare in Chinese ancient books. Laozi not only founded Taoism, one of the three major religions in China, but also influenced the development of the whole history of China philosophy and the ideology of the whole feudal society.
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Laozi's works and thoughts have become the precious wealth of the world historical and cultural heritage. The influence of Laozi's thought is unparalleled not only in Taoism, but also far-reaching outside Taoism. Its influence not only includes philosophy, religion, politics, economics, sociology, aesthetics, ethics, literature and art, psychology, education, logic and rhetoric;
But also involves medicine, health, qigong, military, management, architecture, gardening and many other fields. According to the incomplete statistics of the Yuan Dynasty, since the pre-Qin period, there have been more than 3,000 kinds of research and annotation works in the Yuan Dynasty.
As early as18th century, some western countries had many versions of Laozi. According to the statistics of UNESCO, Laozi is the most published book except the Bible in the world, with more than 300 editions in Japan alone.
By the 1940s and 1950s, there were more than 60 translations of Tao Te Ching in Europe. German philosopher Hegel, Nietzsche, Russian great writer Tolstoy and other world-renowned scholars have conducted in-depth research on the Tao Te Ching and published monographs or monographs.
Laozi is one of the three great saints in the East in the eyes of westerners. The New York Times once listed Laozi as one of the top ten writers in the world. There are ten statues of the world's top thinkers in the square of the British Library in London, and Laozi is one of them. Laozi's thought has already broken through national boundaries and become the common spiritual wealth of all mankind.
Baidu encyclopedia-Laozi