Important Figures
There are many important figures in Daoism. Other than Laozi himself, the commonly accepted founder, there are more individuals who have contributed to the development Daoism. However, the three most important characters to Daoist belief are Laozi, Zhuangzhi, and Benjamin Hoff.
Laozi
"I know that a bird can fly, a fish can swim, and an animal can run. For that which runs a net can be made, for that which swims a line can be made, for that which flies a corded arrow can be made. But the dragon's ascent into heaven on the wind and the clouds is something which is beyond my knowledge. Today I have seen Lao Tzu who is perhaps like a dragon."
-Confucius
Nothing is certain about the legendary founder of Daoism. Nobody knows when he was born, who he was married to, or whether or not he even existed. Some part of his life, however, can be found in the historical records written by a Chinese scribe named Sima Qian. Laozi was a native to the Li Village during the Zhou Dynasty, and he worked as a historian in charge of the archives of the empire. His real name was Erh Li, and the nickname Laozi (which means "an old teacher") was given by others who received his teachings. Laozi is widely accepted as the creator and founder of Daoism largely due to his novel Tao Te Ching, which established the set of ideas and beliefs of Daoism. Most of the Daoist ideas, principles, and understanding of "the way" comes from Laozi's teachings. Laozi's position as the creator Daoism had also made the religion and himself nearly synonymous, which occasionally causes diverting blunders such as people calling the religion "Laoism." Despite the misconception made by most people that Laozi is the god in Daoism, the traditional Daoists consider Laozi as a teacher, not a god. His enormous contribution to Daoism therefore placed him as the founder of Daoism.
-Confucius
Nothing is certain about the legendary founder of Daoism. Nobody knows when he was born, who he was married to, or whether or not he even existed. Some part of his life, however, can be found in the historical records written by a Chinese scribe named Sima Qian. Laozi was a native to the Li Village during the Zhou Dynasty, and he worked as a historian in charge of the archives of the empire. His real name was Erh Li, and the nickname Laozi (which means "an old teacher") was given by others who received his teachings. Laozi is widely accepted as the creator and founder of Daoism largely due to his novel Tao Te Ching, which established the set of ideas and beliefs of Daoism. Most of the Daoist ideas, principles, and understanding of "the way" comes from Laozi's teachings. Laozi's position as the creator Daoism had also made the religion and himself nearly synonymous, which occasionally causes diverting blunders such as people calling the religion "Laoism." Despite the misconception made by most people that Laozi is the god in Daoism, the traditional Daoists consider Laozi as a teacher, not a god. His enormous contribution to Daoism therefore placed him as the founder of Daoism.
Zhuangzhi
Similar to Laozi, there are not much known about Zhuangzhi's life other than the parts from Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian. Zhuangzhi focuses more on human mind and thought in comparison to Laozi, who focused more on the harmony with the nature and the flow. Zhuangzhi's most famous work is a novel of the same name, Zhuangzhi, which is famous for its sophisticated wordplays. One of Zhuangzhi's ideas, the Butterfly Dream, is perhaps even more well known than Zhuangzhi himself. His story about the butterfly dream talks about how Zhuangzhi wondered if he was dreaming of being a butterfly or if the butterfly was dreaming of being himself. This idea had a great impact on the debates over dreams and it is referred occasional in popular culture. Even in the Daoist community, however, he is almost as significant as Laozi, the founder, himself due to his deeper thoughts in human psychology and establishment of ideas in the schools during the time period.