Picture an old sage riding on the back of a water buffalo, departing the gates of an ancient city as the sun sets. This wise old man is Laozi – literally “Old Master” – the legendary philosopher of ancient China. According to tradition, Laozi grew weary of the moral decay and turmoil of his time. In his twilight years, he chose to leave civilization behind, traveling westward toward the mountains, seeking solitude. At a frontier pass, a guard named Yinxi recognized the sage and begged him to record his wisdom before he vanished into the wilderness. Laozi stopped and composed a slender book of aphorisms and poetry – the Daodejing, or “Classic of the Way and Virtue.” Handing over this manuscript, he rode beyond the border and out of history, never to be seen again.
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