PHILOSOPHER

Laozi

604 BC - 600 BC

Laozi

Lao Tzu (), also rendered as Laozi (UK: ; Chinese: 老子, Mandarin: [làu.tsɹ̩]; commonly translated as "Old Master") and Lao-Tze (), was an ancient Chinese philosopher and writer. He is the reputed author of the Tao Te Ching, the founder of philosophical Taoism, and a deity in religious Taoism and traditional Chinese religions. A semi-legendary figure, Lao Tzu was usually portrayed as a 6th-century BC contemporary of Confucius, but some modern historians consider him to have lived during the Warring States period of the 4th century BC. A central figure in Chinese culture, Laozi is claimed by both the emperors of the Tang dynasty and modern people of the Li surname as a founder of their lineage. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Laozi has received more than 3,549,302 page views. His biography is available in 137 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 134 in 2019). Laozi is the 32nd most popular philosopher (down from 28th in 2019), the 5th most popular biography from China and the 2nd most popular Chinese Philosopher.

Laozi is most famous for being the founder of Daoism.

Memorability Metrics

3.5M
Page Views (PV)
86.03
Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
137
Languages Editions (L)
9.10
Effective Languages (L*)
5.87
Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Page views of Laozis by language

Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Laozi ranks 32 out of 1,089. Before him are Seneca the Younger, Friedrich Engels, Averroes, Democritus, Diogenes, and David Hume. After him are Martin Heidegger, Søren Kierkegaard, Auguste Comte, Sun Tzu, Plutarch, and Al-Ghazali.

Most Popular Philosophers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings

Seneca the Younger
4 BC - 65
HPI: 87.37
Rank: 26
Friedrich Engels
1820 - 1895
HPI: 87.10
Rank: 27
Averroes
1126 - 1198
HPI: 86.62
Rank: 28
Democritus
460 BC - 360 BC
HPI: 86.38
Rank: 29
Diogenes
404 BC - 322 BC
HPI: 86.10
Rank: 30
David Hume
1711 - 1776
HPI: 86.05
Rank: 31
Laozi
604 BC - 600 BC
HPI: 86.03
Rank: 32
Martin Heidegger
1889 - 1976
HPI: 86.01
Rank: 33
Søren Kierkegaard
1813 - 1855
HPI: 85.75
Rank: 34
Auguste Comte
1798 - 1857
HPI: 85.46
Rank: 35
Sun Tzu
543 BC - 495 BC
HPI: 85.45
Rank: 36
Plutarch
46 - 127
HPI: 85.27
Rank: 37
Al-Ghazali
1058 - 1111
HPI: 85.22
Rank: 38

Contemporaries

Among people born in 604 BC, Laozi ranks 1. Among people deceased in 600 BC, Laozi ranks 1. After him are Daniel, Draco, Tomyris, Belshazzar, Astyages, Maya, Epimenides, Phalaris, Theano, Anacharsis, and Ibycus.