What influence did Laozi, the founder of Taoism, have on later times?

The Tao Te Ching has had a very significant impact on Chinese history and culture, not only has it continued to have an impact for a long period of time in history, but also has increasingly embodied its important value in the modern world; it not only represents the main ideological concepts of pre-Qin Taoism, but also fully demonstrates the unique ideological character of the Taoist culture, and forms the traditional spiritual concepts of the ancient history of China with Confucianism. It not only represents the main ideological concepts of pre-Qin Taoism, but also fully manifests the unique ideological character of Taoist culture, and together with Confucianism, it forms the traditional spiritual concept of "Confucianism and Taoism complementing each other" in ancient Chinese history, which has become the two most important academic trends influencing the ideological theories in China.

The influence of Tao Te Ching can be understood from at least three aspects: firstly, philosophical wisdom, mainly the establishment and spread of Taoist thought and theory; secondly, the influence of strategic thinking, including Laozi's wisdom and tactics, and the formation of the emperor's power tactics and legal power tactics through the play of Han Fei Zi and others; and thirdly, the influence of Taoism, which is widely spread as the theoretical basis of Taoism, and is widely disseminated in the folklore. The third is the influence on Taoism, i.e., as the theoretical basis of Taoism, which has been widely disseminated and spread among the people.

First, Laozi was the founder of Taoism, and his Tao Te Ching laid down the basic philosophical theories of pre-Qin Taoism.

Lao Zi's theory of thought was the earliest academic thought to take the form of a philosophical theory, and, according to historical records, even Lao Zi consulted Lao Zi on his learning and ideological views. When Lao Zi was a historian (director of the National Library) at Luoyi, the capital of the Zhou Dynasty, Confucius traveled to Luoyi and knew that Lao Zi was very knowledgeable and learned, so he went to ask Lao Zi for advice, and Lao Zi's ideas had a great influence on Confucius.

Later, Laozi saw that times were beginning to change, and he traveled west on a green ox, and was left behind at the Hangu Pass by the official who guarded the pass, who asked him to write a book about his ideas, and thus there was the 5,000 words of Laozi, or the Tao Te Ching.

The first theoretical contribution of the Tao Te Ching was the creation of the basic theory of Taoism.

Lao Zi explained the evolution of all things in the universe in terms of the Tao, which he considered to be the origin of all things, and proposed that "the Tao gives birth to one, the Tao gives birth to two, the Tao gives birth to two, the Tao gives birth to two, the Tao gives birth to three, and the Tao gives birth to three, and the Tao gives birth to all things". He believed that "Tao" is the origin of all things, and he proposed that "Tao begets one, two begets two, two begets three, and three begets all things", and that all things originate from "Tao", and "Tao" is the existence of all things. "Tao" is "the order (order) and always natural", is the natural reality, therefore, "Tao" is self-existing and self-acting, does not depend on the existence of external objects, does not exist for the existence of external objects, it is to It is the purpose of itself.

Lao Zi's philosophical thought is the earliest theoretical form of the pre-Qin Dynasty that has the unity of abstraction and systematicity, and represents the highest philosophical wisdom of the pre-Qin Dynasty. His concept of "Taoism and the Law of Nature" became one of the most outstanding and profound philosophical theories in ancient China, which had a profound influence on the later generations and is still a profound theoretical proposition today.