There are many versions of Lao Tzu’s birth:
First, Lao Tzu’s father was Sima Laozuo of the Song Dynasty. He was shot by enemy arrows during the siege and fell to the ground. The horse died. His wife gave birth to Laozi while fleeing from Chen State. Because his ears grew bigger, he was named "Dan"; because he was born in the Year of the Tiger (571 BC), his neighbors called him "Little Li'er". , which means "little tiger". People in the Jianghuai area replaced "cat" with "river", which is homophonic to "Li Er", so Laozi is also called Li Er.
Secondly, according to the "Biography of Immortals", Lao Tzu was originally a deity in the sky. He turned into five-color beads and fell from the sky. At that time, Yin, the daughter of King Xuanmiao, was taking a nap. She felt it and swallowed it. From then on, there were pregnant. Later, a child was born from his left rib. He could walk as soon as he fell to the ground. With every step he took, lotus flowers bloomed. After the child walked nine steps, he stopped, pointed to a plum tree in the yard and said, "This is me." It’s also a surname!”
There is also a legend that Laozi’s mother was pregnant with him for eighty-one years, and her hair and beard were all white when she was born. She exclaimed, “Laozi! (Old Son)”, hence his name. .
According to Mr. Hu Shi’s research and speculation, Lao Tzu was born during the period of King Ling of Zhou, about 570 BC.
The place where Laozi was born was Ku County of Chen State. Later, Chen State was destroyed by Chu State and became Ku County of Chu State, which is now Luyi County of Henan Province.
When I was a child, I showed extraordinary intelligence, and the teacher my mother hired for him was also very knowledgeable. However, after a few years, I felt that I had more than enough energy, and in order to avoid delaying my education, I With his development, he recommended him to his senior brother who was a doctor of Taixue in the Zhou royal family. After I entered Taixue, I learned everything from astronomy, geography, and human relations. I read everything in "Poetry", "Books", "Yi", "Calendar", "Li" and "Music", and I studied everything in cultural relics, canons, and history books. Three years of success. The doctor recommended him to work in the collection room, which was equivalent to the librarian of the Zhou royal family. There, I was like a fish swimming into the sea, hungry and thirsty, feasting on all the wonderful books in the world. Three years later, I was promoted to be the curator of the collection room, that is, the director of the library. Because of his high moral character and talent, his reputation gradually emerged, and his reputation spread far and wide throughout the country.
Confucius was still young at that time. Hearing about Laozi’s fame, he also went to see him. Confucius mainly asked Laozi for advice on the "rituals" of the past dynasties. After Lao Tzu learned of his purpose, he said to Confucius: "Those etiquette you mentioned, the bones of the person who advocated them have rotted, only his words are still there. When a gentleman's fortune comes, he drives his car and goes out to be an official. He will not survive." When the time comes, it is like fluffy grass blowing in the wind, and it stops when it stops. I heard that people who are good at business hide their goods as if they have nothing; a gentleman has a noble character, and his appearance is as humble as a dull one. People. Abandon arrogance and excessive desire, abandon pretentious manners and excessive ambitions, these are no good. I can tell you, that's all."
Confucius left. Later, he said to his disciples: "Bird, I know it can fly; fish, I know it can swim; beast, I know it can run. If it can run, you can catch it with a net; if it can swim, you can catch it with a silk thread; if it can swim, you can catch it with a silk thread. You can shoot it with arrows. As for the dragon, it rides the wind and clouds and soars into the sky. I don’t know what to do. The person I saw today is probably a dragon!”
I don’t know what to do. After living in the capital of the Zhou Dynasty for a long time, I felt the decline of the royal family and the aggression of the princes. I decided to leave this place of right and wrong and live in seclusion in Linquan.
The official guarding Hangu Pass is called Yin Xi, and he is also a wise man. It is said that he is proficient in calendars, good at observing astronomy, and is good at astrology. He can know the past and see the future. One day I saw purple energy coming from the east and knew that a saint was coming, so I waited carefully. When I saw Lao Tzu riding a green bull backwards and coming slowly, I felt overjoyed and knew that this was the man indicated by the celestial signs.
Yin Xi invited Laozi to stay, and begged Laozi to leave his works and live in seclusion. Lao Tzu could not refuse his kindness, so he had to stay temporarily. Taking the rise and fall of the dynasty, the safety and misfortune of the people as a guide, he traced its origins and wrote a book of five thousand words, divided into two parts. The first part is "The Book of Tao", which talks about the root of the universe, including The mechanism of the change of heaven and earth contains the wonderful changes of yin and yang; the second chapter, "De Jing", talks about the way to deal with the world, including the art of advancing and retreating in personnel, and the way of long-term vision.
After Laozi completed his work, he bid farewell to Yin Xi, rode an ox out of the customs, and disappeared.
Sima Qian said in "Historical Records" that I lived one hundred and sixty years, or two hundred years. Regarding who Laozi was, Sima Qian also provided two other candidates: one, Lao Laizi, who wrote fifteen chapters; the other, Taishi Dan of Zhou, who was one hundred and twenty years after Confucius.
Just as Lao Tzu's birth is mysterious, so is his passing. However, this sentence in "Historical Records" should be pertinent: Lao Tzu is also a hidden gentleman.
A few centuries later, Zhang Daoling of the Eastern Han Dynasty founded Taoism and invited Laozi to be the Taoist ancestor. The book "Laozi" was also revered as the "Tao De Zhen". In "The Biography of Immortals", Lao Tzu has become an immortal.