In the mid-twentieth century, a consensus emerged among scholars that the historicity of the person known as Laozi is doubtful and that the Tao Te Ching was "a compilation of Taoist sayings by many hands". During the Tang dynasty, he was granted the title "Supremely Mysterious and Primordial Emperor" ( 太上玄元皇帝, Tàishàng Xuānyuán Huángdì). Other forms include the variants Lao-tze, Lao-tsu and Laozi/Lao Zi.Īs a religious figure, he is worshipped under the name "Supreme Old Lord" ( 太上老君, Tàishàng Lǎojūn) and as one of the " Three Pure Ones". In the 19th century, the title was usually romanized as Lao-tse. The most common present form is still Lao Tzu, which is based on the formerly prevalent Wade–Giles system. The honorific title Lao Tzu has been romanized numerous ways, sometimes leading to confusion. According to the Companion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy, "the 'founder' of philosophical Daoism is the quasi-legendary Laodan, more commonly known as Laozi (Old Master)". The name Lǎo Dān also appears interchangeably with Lǎo Zi in early Daoist texts such as the Zhuangzi, and may also be the name by which Lao Tzu was addressed by Confucius when they possibly met. Sima Qian in his biography mentions his name as Lǐ Ěr, and his literary name as Lǐ Dān, which became the deferential Lǎo Dān ( 老 聃, Lǎo Dān). A prominent posthumous name was Li Dan ( 李 聃, Lǐ Dān). Lǐ Ěr) and his courtesy name as Boyang ( trad. In traditional accounts, Laozi's actual personal name is usually given as Li Er ( 李 耳, Old * rə ʔ nə ʔ, Mod.
Lao Tzu itself is a Chinese honorific title: 老 ( Old * r ˤu ʔ, "old, venerable") and 子 ( Old * tsə ʔ, "master").