Lao Zi
Lao Zi, whose real name is Li Er, is a renowned Chinese thinker and philosopher. Allegedly born in the State of Chen (present-day Luyi County of Zhoukou, Henan Province) in the Spring and Autumn Period, he is the founder and chief representative of Daoism and is revered as the Daoist progenitor. He is included in The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History.
Lao Zi created theories centered on dao (the Way). He believed that dao is the origin of all things in the universe while de (virtue) is their inherent nature, the former being the essence and the latter being the manifestation. The core of Lao Zi's theories is naive dialectics. He held that everything in the world exists by comparison and two opposing aspects are actually interconnected and permeate each other through constant changes. Politically, Lao Zi advocated small states with small populations and governance through non-action; and personally, he advocated controlling one's desires, remaining indifferent to worldly gain, and not contending with others.
Dao De Jing (Classic of the Way and Virtue), authored by Lao Zi, is centered on dao and de in their philosophical sense. It is a wide-ranging, recondite monograph on the principles of self-cultivation, state governance, deployment of troops, and physical fitness, exerting profound influences on China's traditional philosophy, science, politics, and religions. It has been translated into dozens of languages and circulated all over the world as a valuable cultural asset of humanity.
Many of Lao Zi's ideas, such as "letting things take their natural course," "action through non-action," "great virtue is like water," and "doing what the people wish," have immensely influenced Chinese people's philosophical concepts and way of thinking. A Taiqing Palace (Palace of Heaven) in memorial of Lao Zi and a Lao Zi Institute advocating his theories are built in Luyi County, the hometown of Daoist culture.
老子
老子，姓李名耳，相傳為春秋時期陳國（今河南省周口市鹿邑縣）人，著名思想家與哲學家，道家學派創始人和主要代表，被尊為“道祖”，入選“世界百位歷史名人”。
老子建立了以“道”為中心的學說，認為“道”是天地萬物的根源，“德”是事物自身的本性，“道”為體、“德”為用。老子思想的核心是樸素辯證法，認為世界上的任何事物都是相比較而存在的，相互對立的兩個方面實際上是相互包含、相互滲透的，即“你中有我，我中有你”，并非一成不變。他在政治上主張小國寡民、無為而治，在修身方面講求虛心實腹、不與人爭的修持。
老子所著的《道德經》，以哲學意義之“道德”為綱宗，論述修身、治國、用兵、養生之道，文意深奧，內涵廣博，對中國傳統哲學、科學、政治、宗教等領域產生了深刻影響，還被譯為幾十種文字在世界范圍內傳播，成為全人類的寶貴精神財富。
老子的“道法自然”“無為而無不為”“上善若水”“以百姓心為心”等學說，深刻影響著中國人的哲學觀念和思維方式。河南省周口市鹿邑縣設有紀念老子的太清宮和傳承與弘揚老子學說的“老子學院”，被稱為“中國老子文化之鄉”。
