Editing Laozi (section)

== Name ==
Laozi ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|au|d|z|ə}}) is the modern pinyin [[romanization of Chinese|romanization]] of {{lang|zh|老子}}. It is not a personal name, but rather an [[Chinese honorifics|honorific title]], meaning 'old' or 'venerable'. Its structure matches that of other ancient Chinese philosophers, such as [[Kongzi]], [[Mencius|Mengzi]], and [[Zhuang Zhou|Zhuangzi]].<ref>{{citation |contribution=The "Ancient Child" Fallacy |date=29 December 2016 |last=Lin |first=Derek |contribution-url=https://taoism.net/ancient-child/ |url=https://taoism.net |title=Taoism.net }}</ref>

Traditional accounts give Laozi the personal name '''Li Er''' ({{lang|zh|李耳}}, {{tlit|zh|Lǐ Ěr}}), whose [[Old Chinese]] pronunciation [[reconstruction of Old Chinese|has been reconstructed]] as {{Transliteration|och|*C.rəʔ&nbsp;C.nəʔ}}.<ref name=baxsag>{{cite web |last1=Baxter |first1=William |first2=Laurent |last2=Sagart |url=http://ocbaxtersagart.lsait.lsa.umich.edu/BaxterSagartOCbyMandarinMC2014-09-20.pdf |title=Baxter–Sagart Old Chinese Reconstruction |date=20 September 2014 |access-date=1 May 2018}}</ref> [[Li (surname 李)|Li]] is a common [[Chinese surname]] which also has the meaning 'plum' or 'plum tree' when used as a common noun; there is a legend tying Laozi's birth to a plum tree.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia <!-- Citation bot no -->|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Laozi|title=Laozi |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |date=2009 |last1=Ames |first1=Roger T. |last2=Kaltenmark |first2=Max |author1-link= Roger T. Ames }}</ref> Laozi has long been identified with the persona '''Lao Dan''' ({{lang|zh|老聃}}, {{tlit|zh|Lǎo Dān}}).{{sfnp|Luo|2004|p=118}}{{sfnp|Kramer|1986|p=118}}{{sfnp|Chan|2000|p=2}} ''Dan'' similarly means "Long-Ear" or "the Long-Eared One". The character {{lang|zh|耳}} is the Chinese word for 'ear'.<ref>{{Citation |script-work=zh:漢典 |work=Zdic |url=https://www.zdic.net/hant/%E8%80%B3 |script-title=zh:耳字 |language=zh}}</ref>

Laozi is recorded bearing the [[courtesy name]] '''Boyang''' ({{lang|zh|伯陽}}, {{tlit|zh|Bóyáng}}), whose Old Chinese pronunciation has been reconstructed as {{Transliteration|och|*pˤrak&nbsp;laŋ}}.<ref name=baxsag/> The character {{lang|zh|伯}} was the title of the eldest son born to the primary wife, or an uncle of the father's family who was older than one's father, also used as a [[Zhou dynasty nobility|noble title]] indicating an aristocratic lineage head with rulership over a small to medium domain, and as a general mark of respect. The character {{lang|zh|陽}} is [[yang (concept)|yang]], the solar and masculine life force in Taoist belief. Lao Dan seems to have been used more generally, however, including by [[Sima Qian]] in his ''[[Shiji]]'' ({{circa|91&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}),<ref name="LDR">{{citation |last1=Rainey |first1=Lee Dian |title=Decoding Dao: Reading the ''Dao De Jing'' (''Tao Te Ching'') and the ''Zhuangzi'' (''Chuang Tzu'') |date=2013 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1118465677 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=YNFiAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT31 31] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YNFiAgAAQBAJ}}.</ref> in the ''[[Zhuangzi (book)|Zhuangzi]]'',<ref name="LDR"/> and by some modern scholars.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | author-last= Fu | author-first= Charles Wei-hsun |editor-last1=Carr |editor-first1=Brian |editor-last2=Mahalingam |editor-first2=Indira |title=Daoism in Chinese Philosophy |encyclopedia=Companion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1134960583 |pages=497–519|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xIwrBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA497}}</ref>