Eastern Thinkers · ~6th century BC
Laozi
Their big question
“What is the natural ‘Way’ behind everything?”
Laozi (the ‘Old Master’) is the legendary founder of Daoism in ancient China — living around the same time as the first Greek philosophers. He taught about the Dao: the natural ‘Way’ or flow of the universe that everything follows. The wise person lives in harmony with it through ‘wu wei,’ or effortless action — like water, soft and yielding yet able to wear away the hardest rock.
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
The big idea
Daoism teaches that there is a natural order, the Dao, underlying all things, and that trying to force or control everything works against it. ‘Wu wei’ (non-forcing) means achieving more by flowing with nature rather than struggling. Simplicity, humility, and yielding are strengths, not weaknesses.
Why it matters
Daoism became one of the great pillars of Chinese thought (alongside Confucianism and Buddhism), shaping Chinese art, medicine, martial arts, and attitudes to nature. Its call to live simply and in harmony with nature feels strikingly modern and ecological.
The big argument
Laozi's advice to avoid ambition and ‘do less’ can seem to clash with Confucius's call to actively reform society — the two schools debated this for centuries. Some scholars also doubt Laozi was a single real person at all.
In their own words
- “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” — attributed to Laozi
- “He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.” — Laozi
🤯 Fun fact
Legend says Laozi grew so sad about society that he rode off on a water buffalo — and only wrote his famous book when a gatekeeper begged him to leave his wisdom behind.
Learn more
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