Laozi was a great Chinese philosopher and the founder of Taoism. He was one of the patriarchs of the three religions (Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism) along with Confucius and Sakyamuni. It is said that Laozi was surnamed Li, with the given name of Er and the style name of Dan. He was from Ku County (present-day eastern Luyi County of Henan) of the State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period and served as an official of the archives of the Zhou Dynasty.

Legend has it that Laozi had white brows and beard when he was born. That's why he was called Laozi (meaning "old son" in Chinese). Laozi was an advocate of "the inaction thought" and his ideal political realm was the state in which neighboring countries are within each other's sight and rooster crows and dog barks can be heard, but there's no people-to-people contact from life to death.

According to historical documents, Laozi felt that the Zhou Dynasty was declining and the country would be plunged into chaos, he then went westward via Hangu Pass. When he was going out of Hangu Pass, Yin Xi, the magistrate of the pass, who asked him to compose a book as a token, stopped Laozi. Then the Tao Te Ching was born.

Laozi was the founder of Taoism and Zhuang Zhou later developed his theories. He was regarded as a great master by Taoists of later generations. In Taoism, Laozi is one of the major divinities and honored as "The Supreme Lord Lao" and "Taoist Ancestor".