PHILOSOPHER

Laozi

604 BC - 600 BC

Laozi

Laozi (Chinese: 老子, Mandarin: [làu.tsɹ̩]; commonly translated as "Old Master"), also rendered as Lao Tzu (), or Lao-Tze (), proper name Li Er, courtesy name Boyang, 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, Laozi is usually portrayed as a 6th-century BCE contemporary of Confucius in the Spring and Autumn period. Some modern historians consider him to have lived during the Warring States period of the 4th century BCE. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Laozi has received more than 4,107,030 page views. His biography is available in 141 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 137 in 2019). Laozi is the 36th most popular philosopher (down from 32nd in 2019), the 5th most popular biography from China and the 2nd most popular Philosopher.

Laozi is most famous for being the founder of Daoism.

Memorability Metrics

4.1M
Page Views (PV)
81.11
Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
141
Languages Editions (L)
8.42
Effective Languages (L*)
6.17
Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Page views of Laozis by language

Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Laozi ranks 36 out of 1,081. Before him are Parmenides, Baruch Spinoza, Martin Heidegger, Anaximander, Al-Ghazali, and Diogenes. After him are David Hume, Søren Kierkegaard, Protagoras, Thomas More, Maria Montessori, and Sun Tzu.

Most Popular Philosophers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings

Parmenides
501 BC - 470 BC
HPI: 82.29
Rank: 30
Baruch Spinoza
1632 - 1677
HPI: 82.22
Rank: 31
Martin Heidegger
1889 - 1976
HPI: 81.59
Rank: 32
Anaximander
610 BC - 546 BC
HPI: 81.49
Rank: 33
Al-Ghazali
1058 - 1111
HPI: 81.46
Rank: 34
Diogenes
404 BC - 322 BC
HPI: 81.46
Rank: 35
Laozi
604 BC - 600 BC
HPI: 81.11
Rank: 36
David Hume
1711 - 1776
HPI: 81.09
Rank: 37
Søren Kierkegaard
1813 - 1855
HPI: 81.07
Rank: 38
Protagoras
486 BC - 420 BC
HPI: 80.89
Rank: 39
Thomas More
1478 - 1535
HPI: 80.66
Rank: 40
Maria Montessori
1870 - 1952
HPI: 80.58
Rank: 41
Sun Tzu
544 BC - 496 BC
HPI: 80.47
Rank: 42

Contemporaries

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