Laozi and Daoism

Tradition tells of an older contemporary of Confucius, keeper of the royal archive, who at the end of his life rode away to the west and, at the request of the gatekeeper at the pass, left behind a small book. So the origin of the Daodejing is explained — some five thousand characters on the way of things, on the usefulness of emptiness, and on government that is best when it interferes least. Whether Laozi existed is unknown; the text most likely took shape over several generations. Together with the parables of Zhuangzi it will give rise to Daoism — after Confucianism, the second pillar of Chinese thought.