Lao Tse
Laozi is the name commonly used to refer to the author of the Tao Te Ching, an early philosophical work from Asia. He (or perhaps even she) may not have actually existed. Various reports have him living somewhere between the 2nd and 6th century BC. He is also known by many other names, Lao Tsu, Lao Zi, or Lao Tse are some (a young Chinese tourist in Chicago once pronounced it distressingly close to "lousy", but this author usually chooses the pronunciation that is closer to "Loud Sue".)
The name Lao Zi is an honorific title. Lao is often translated as "venerable" or "old." Zi can translate literally as "child" or "offspring", but it was also a term for a rank of nobleman equivalent to viscount, as well as a term of respect attached to the names of revered scholars. Thus, "Lao Zi" can be translated as "the old master”, or perhaps more elegantly, “the old boy.” Lao Zi is believed by some to have been a contemporary of Confucius (551-479 BC), and by others to be a teacher of Confucius.
Sadly, the exact circumstances surrounding Lao Zi's creation of the Tao Te Ching have been lost to the centuries, but one popular account goes something like this:
Lao Zi was the keeper of the archives (what we might today think of as 'the wise man') in one of the many kingdoms that are now part of China. When he saw that the kingdom was in decline, he decided to leave. Apon reaching the border, the official in charge of the border pass stopped him asking something to the effect of "if you go, how will we know the right way to follow?" And so, before leaving, Lao Zi wrote out the 5000 words of the Tao Te Ching for posterity.
Some accounts of the story have Lao Tsu traveling to India upon his departure and becoming known as Buddha[[1] but, like the rest of the story, there is no actual evidence in existence to spport this.