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Schrödinger's cat
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In quantum mechanics, Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment that illustrates a paradox of quantum superposition. In the thought experiment, a hypothetical cat may be considered simultaneously both alive and dead as a result of its fate being linked to a random subatomic event that may or may not occur.
This thought experiment was devised by physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1935,[1] in a discussion with Albert Einstein,[2] to illustrate what Schrödinger saw as the problems of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. The scenario is often featured in theoretical discussions of the interpretations of quantum mechanics, particularly in situations involving the measurement problem.
Origin and motivation[edit]
Schrödinger intended his thought experiment as a discussion of the EPR article—named after its authors Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen—in 1935.[3][4] The EPR article highlighted the counterintuitive nature of quantum superpositions, in which a quantum system such as an atom or photon can exist as a combination of multiple states corresponding to different possible outcomes.
The prevailing theory, called the Copenhagen interpretation, says that a quantum system remains in superposition until it interacts with, or is observed by the external world. When this happens, the superposition collapses into one or another of the possible definite states. The EPR experiment shows that a system with multiple particles separated by large distances can be in such a superposition. Schrödinger and Einstein exchanged letters about Einstein's EPR article, in the course of which Einstein pointed out that the state of an unstable keg of gunpowder will, after a while, contain a superposition of both exploded and unexploded states.[4]
To further illustrate, Schrödinger described how one could, in principle, create a superposition in a large-scale system by making it dependent on a quantum particle that was in a superposition. He proposed a scenario with a cat in a locked steel chamber, wherein the cat's life or death depended on the state of a radioactive atom, whether it had decayed and emitted radiation or not. According to Schrödinger, the Copenhagen interpretation implies that the cat remains both alive and dead until the state has been observed. Schrödinger did not wish to promote the idea of dead-and-live cats as a serious possibility; on the contrary, he intended the example to illustrate the absurdity of the existing view of quantum mechanics.[1] The idea that quantum superpositions of macroscopic states could be possible led to the Many-worlds interpretation of quantum theory.
Since Schrödinger's time, various interpretations of the mathematics of quantum mechanics have been advanced by physicists, some of which regard the "alive and dead" cat superposition as quite real, others do not.[5][6] Intended as a critique of the Copenhagen interpretation (the prevailing orthodoxy in 1935), the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment remains a touchstone for modern interpretations of quantum mechanics and can be used to illustrate and compare their strengths and weaknesses.[7]
Catman Erwin Schrödinger
Erwin Schrödinger | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Schrödinger in 1933 | |
| Born | Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger 12 August 1887 |
| Died | 4 January 1961 (aged 73) Vienna, Austria |
| Nationality | Austrian |
| Citizenship | |
| Alma mater | University of Vienna |
| Known for | show List |
| Spouse(s) | Annemarie Bertel (m. 1920) |
| Awards | Matteucci Medal (1927) Nobel Prize in Physics (1933) Max Planck Medal (1937) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | |
| Thesis | Über die Leitung der Elektrizität auf der Oberfläche von Isolatoren an feuchter Luft (On the conduction of electricity on the surface of insulators in humid air) (1910) |
| Doctoral advisor | Friedrich Hasenöhrl[2] |
| Other academic advisors | Franz S. Exner |
| Signature | |
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Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger (UK: /ˈʃrɜːdɪŋər/, US: /ˈʃroʊ-/;[3] German: [ˈɛɐ̯viːn ˈʃʁøːdɪŋɐ]; 12 August 1887 – 4 January 1961), sometimes written as Erwin Schrodinger or Erwin Schroedinger, was a Nobel Prize-winning Austrian-Irish physicist who developed a number of fundamental results in quantum theory: the Schrödinger equation provides a way to calculate the wave function of a system and how it changes dynamically in time.
In addition, he wrote many works on various aspects of physics: statistical mechanics and thermodynamics, physics of dielectrics, colour theory, electrodynamics, general relativity, and cosmology, and he made several attempts to construct a unified field theory. In his book What Is Life? Schrödinger addressed the problems of genetics, looking at the phenomenon of life from the point of view of physics. He paid great attention to the philosophical aspects of science, ancient, and oriental philosophical concepts, ethics, and religion.[4] He also wrote on philosophy and theoretical biology. In popular culture, he is most known for his "Schrödinger's cat" thought experiment.[5][6] Schrödinger's personal life caused him some problems as he lived with both a wife and mistress. In his journal, he also documented sexual liaisons with other women and his self-described "predilection for teenage girls".
Spending most of his life as an academic with positions at various universities, Schrödinger along with Paul Dirac won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1933 for his work on quantum mechanics, the same year he left Germany due to his opposition to Nazism. In his personal life, he lived with both his wife and his mistress which may have led to problems causing him to leave his position at Oxford. Subsequently, until 1938, he had a position in Graz, Austria until the Nazi takeover, when he fled finally finding a long-term arrangement in Dublin where he remained until retirement in 1955. He died in Vienna of tuberculosis at the age of 73.
Biography[edit]
Early years[edit]
Schrödinger was born in Erdberg, Vienna, Austria, on 12 August 1887, to Rudolf Schrödinger (cerecloth producer, botanist[7]) and Georgine Emilia Brenda Schrödinger (née Bauer) (daughter of Alexander Bauer , professor of chemistry, TU Wien).[8] He was their only child.
His mother was of half Austrian and half English descent; his father was Catholic and his mother was Lutheran. Although he was raised in a religious household as a Lutheran, he himself was an atheist.[9] However, he had strong interests in Eastern religions and pantheism, and he used religious symbolism in his works.[10] He also believed his scientific work was an approach to Divinity, albeit in an intellectual sense.[11]
He was also able to learn English outside school, as his maternal grandmother was British.[12] Between 1906 and 1910 (the year he earned his doctorate) Schrödinger studied at the University of Vienna under the physicists Franz S. Exner (1849–1926) and Friedrich Hasenöhrl (1874–1915). He received his doctorate at Vienna under Hasenöhrl. He also conducted experimental work with Karl Wilhelm Friedrich "Fritz" Kohlrausch. In 1911, Schrödinger became an assistant to Exner.
Middle years[edit]
In 1914 Schrödinger achieved habilitation (venia legendi). Between 1914 and 1918 he participated in war work as a commissioned officer in the Austrian fortress artillery (Gorizia, Duino, Sistiana, Prosecco, Vienna). In 1920 he became the assistant to Max Wien, in Jena, and in September 1920 he attained the position of ao. Prof. (ausserordentlicher Professor), roughly equivalent to Reader (UK) or associate professor (US), in Stuttgart. In 1921, he became o. Prof. (ordentlicher Professor, i.e. full professor), in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland).[citation needed]
In 1921, he moved to the University of Zürich. In 1927, he succeeded Max Planck at the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin. In 1933, Schrödinger decided to leave Germany because he strongly disapproved of the Nazis' antisemitism. He became a Fellow of Magdalen College at the University of Oxford. Soon after he arrived, he received the Nobel Prize together with Paul Dirac. His position at Oxford did not work out well; his unconventional domestic arrangements, sharing living quarters with two women,[13] were not met with acceptance. In 1934, Schrödinger lectured at Princeton University; he was offered a permanent position there, but did not accept it. Again, his wish to set up house with his wife and his mistress may have created a problem.[14] He had the prospect of a position at the University of Edinburgh but visa delays occurred, and in the end he took up a position at the University of Graz in Austria in 1936. He had also accepted the offer of chair position at Department of Physics, Allahabad University in India.[15]
In the midst of these tenure issues in 1935, after extensive correspondence with Albert Einstein, he proposed what is now called the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment.[16]
Later years[edit]
In 1938, after the Anschluss, Schrödinger had problems in Graz because of his flight from Germany in 1933 and his known opposition to Nazism.[17] He issued a statement recanting this opposition (he later regretted doing so and explained the reason to Einstein).[18] However, this did not fully appease the new dispensation and the University of Graz dismissed him from his post for political unreliability. He suffered harassment and was instructed not to leave the country. He and his wife, however, fled to Italy. From there, he went to visiting positions in Oxford and Ghent University.[18][17]
In the same year he received a personal invitation from Ireland's Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera – a mathematician himself – to reside in Ireland and agree to help establish an Institute for Advanced Studies in Dublin.[19] He moved to Kincora Road, Clontarf, Dublin and lived modestly. A plaque has been erected at his Clontarf residence and at the address of his workplace in Merrion Square.[20][21][22] Schrodinger believed that as an Austrian he had a unique relationship to Ireland. In October 1940 a writer from the Irish Press interviewed Schrodinger who spoke of Celtic heritage of Austrians, saying "I believe there is a deeper connection between us Austrians and the Celts. Names of places in the Austrian Alps are said to be of Celtic origin."[23] He became the Director of the School for Theoretical Physics in 1940 and remained there for 17 years. He became a naturalized Irish citizen in 1948, but also retained his Austrian citizenship.[24] He wrote around 50 further publications on various topics, including his explorations of unified field theory.[citation needed]
In 1944, he wrote What Is Life?, which contains a discussion of negentropy and the concept of a complex molecule with the genetic code for living organisms. According to James D. Watson's memoir, DNA, the Secret of Life, Schrödinger's book gave Watson the inspiration to research the gene, which led to the discovery of the DNA double helix structure in 1953. Similarly, Francis Crick, in his autobiographical book What Mad Pursuit, described how he was influenced by Schrödinger's speculations about how genetic information might be stored in molecules.[25]
Schrödinger stayed in Dublin until retiring in 1955.
A manuscript "Fragment from an unpublished dialogue of Galileo"[26] from this time recently resurfaced at The King's Hospital boarding school, Dublin[27] after it was written for the School's 1955 edition of their Blue Coat to celebrate his leaving of Dublin to take up his appointment as Chair of Physics at the University of Vienna.[28]
In 1956, he returned to Vienna (chair ad personam). At an important lecture during the World Energy Conference he refused to speak on nuclear energy because of his scepticism about it and gave a philosophical lecture instead. During this period Schrödinger turned from mainstream quantum mechanics' definition of wave–particle duality and promoted the wave idea alone, causing much controversy.[29][30]
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx FRSA (German: [maʁks]; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, critic of political economy, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 pamphlet The Communist Manifesto and the four-volume Das Kapital (1867–1883). Marx's political and philosophical thought had enormous influence on subsequent intellectual, economic, and political history. His name has been used as an adjective, a noun, and a school of social theory.
Born in Trier, Germany, Marx studied law and philosophy at the universities of Bonn and Berlin. He married German theatre critic and political activist Jenny von Westphalen in 1843. Due to his political publications, Marx became stateless and lived in exile with his wife and children in London for decades, where he continued to develop his thought in collaboration with German thinker Friedrich Engels and publish his writings, researching in the British Museum Reading Room.
Marx's critical theories about society, economics, and politics, collectively understood as Marxism, hold that human societies develop through class conflict. In the capitalist mode of production, this manifests itself in the conflict between the ruling classes (known as the bourgeoisie) that control the means of production and the working classes (known as the proletariat) that enable these means by selling their labour-power in return for wages.[13] Employing a critical approach known as historical materialism, Marx predicted that capitalism produced internal tensions like previous socioeconomic systems and that those would lead to its self-destruction and replacement by a new system known as the socialist mode of production. For Marx, class antagonisms under capitalism—owing in part to its instability and crisis-prone nature—would eventuate the working class's development of class consciousness, leading to their conquest of political power and eventually the establishment of a classless, communist society constituted by a free association of producers.[14] Marx actively pressed for its implementation, arguing that the working class should carry out organised proletarian revolutionary action to topple capitalism and bring about socio-economic emancipation.[15]
Marx has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history, and his work has been both lauded and criticised.[16] His work in economics laid the basis for some current theories about labour and its relation to capital.[17][18][19] Many intellectuals, labour unions, artists, and political parties worldwide have been influenced by Marx's work, with many modifying or adapting his ideas. Marx is typically cited as one of the principal architects of modern social science.[20][21]
Biography
Childhood and early education: 1818–1836
Karl Heinrich Marx was born on 5 May 1818 to Heinrich Marx (1777–1838) and Henriette Pressburg (1788–1863). He was born at Brückengasse 664 in Trier, an ancient city then part of the Kingdom of Prussia's Province of the Lower Rhine.[22] Marx's family was originally non-religious Jewish, but had converted formally to Christianity before his birth. His maternal grandfather was a Dutch rabbi, while his paternal line had supplied Trier's rabbis since 1723, a role taken by his grandfather Meier Halevi Marx.[23] His father, as a child known as Herschel, was the first in the line to receive a secular education. He became a lawyer with a comfortably upper middle class income and the family owned a number of Moselle vineyards, in addition to his income as an attorney. Prior to his son's birth and after the abrogation of Jewish emancipation in the Rhineland,[24] Herschel converted from Judaism to join the state Evangelical Church of Prussia, taking on the German forename Heinrich over the Yiddish Herschel.[25]
Largely non-religious, Heinrich was a man of the Enlightenment, interested in the ideas of the philosophers Immanuel Kant and Voltaire. A classical liberal, he took part in agitation for a constitution and reforms in Prussia, which was then an absolute monarchy.[28] In 1815, Heinrich Marx began working as an attorney and in 1819 moved his family to a ten-room property near the Porta Nigra.[29] His wife, Henriette Pressburg, was a Dutch Jew from a prosperous business family that later founded the company Philips Electronics. Her sister Sophie Pressburg (1797–1854) married Lion Philips (1794–1866) and was the grandmother of both Gerard and Anton Philips and great-grandmother to Frits Philips. Lion Philips was a wealthy Dutch tobacco manufacturer and industrialist, upon whom Karl and Jenny Marx would later often come to rely for loans while they were exiled in London.[30]
Little is known of Marx's childhood.[31] The third of nine children, he became the eldest son when his brother Moritz died in 1819.[32] Marx and his surviving siblings, Sophie, Hermann, Henriette, Louise, Emilie, and Caroline, were baptised into the Lutheran Church in August 1824, and their mother in November 1825.[33] Marx was privately educated by his father until 1830 when he entered Trier High School (Gymnasium zu Trier), whose headmaster, Hugo Wyttenbach, was a friend of his father. By employing many liberal humanists as teachers, Wyttenbach incurred the anger of the local conservative government. Subsequently, police raided the school in 1832 and discovered that literature espousing political liberalism was being distributed among the students. Considering the distribution of such material a seditious act, the authorities instituted reforms and replaced several staff during Marx's attendance.[34]
In October 1835 at the age of 17, Marx travelled to the University of Bonn wishing to study philosophy and literature, but his father insisted on law as a more practical field.[35] Due to a condition referred to as a "weak chest",[36] Marx was excused from military duty when he turned 18. While at the University at Bonn, Marx joined the Poets' Club, a group containing political radicals that were monitored by the police.[37] Marx also joined the Trier Tavern Club drinking society (German: Landsmannschaft der Treveraner) where many ideas were discussed and at one point he served as the club's co-president.[38][39] Additionally, Marx was involved in certain disputes, some of which became serious: in August 1836 he took part in a duel with a member of the university's Borussian Korps.[40] Although his grades in the first term were good, they soon deteriorated, leading his father to force a transfer to the more serious and academic University of Berlin.[41]
Hegelianism and early journalism: 1836–1843
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Spending summer and autumn 1836 in Trier, Marx became more serious about his studies and his life. He became engaged to Jenny von Westphalen, an educated member of the petty nobility who had known Marx since childhood. As she had broken off her engagement with a young aristocrat to be with Marx, their relationship was socially controversial owing to the differences between their religious and class origins, but Marx befriended her father Ludwig von Westphalen (a liberal aristocrat) and later dedicated his doctoral thesis to him.[42] Seven years after their engagement, on 19 June 1843, they married in a Protestant church in Kreuznach.[43]
In October 1836, Marx arrived in Berlin, matriculating in the university's faculty of law and renting a room in the Mittelstrasse.[44] During the first term, Marx attended lectures of Eduard Gans (who represented the progressive Hegelian standpoint, elaborated on rational development in history by emphasising particularly its libertarian aspects, and the importance of social question) and of Karl von Savigny (who represented the Historical School of Law).[45] Although studying law, he was fascinated by philosophy and looked for a way to combine the two, believing that "without philosophy nothing could be accomplished".[46] Marx became interested in the recently deceased German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, whose ideas were then widely debated among European philosophical circles.[47] During a convalescence in Stralau, he joined the Doctor's Club (Doktorklub), a student group which discussed Hegelian ideas, and through them became involved with a group of radical thinkers known as the Young Hegelians in 1837. They gathered around Ludwig Feuerbach and Bruno Bauer, with Marx developing a particularly close friendship with Adolf Rutenberg. Like Marx, the Young Hegelians were critical of Hegel's metaphysical assumptions, but adopted his dialectical method to criticise established society, politics and religion from a left-wing perspective.[48] Marx's father died in May 1838, resulting in a diminished income for the family.[49] Marx had been emotionally close to his father and treasured his memory after his death.[50]
By 1837, Marx was writing both fiction and non-fiction, having completed a short novel, Scorpion and Felix; a drama, Oulanem; as well as a number of love poems dedicated to Jenny von Westphalen. None of this early work was published during his lifetime.[51] The love poems were published posthumously in the Collected Works of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels: Volume 1.[52] Marx soon abandoned fiction for other pursuits, including the study of both English and Italian, art history and the translation of Latin classics.[53] He began co-operating with Bruno Bauer on editing Hegel's Philosophy of Religion in 1840. Marx was also engaged in writing his doctoral thesis, The Difference Between the Democritean and Epicurean Philosophy of Nature,[54] which he completed in 1841. It was described as "a daring and original piece of work in which Marx set out to show that theology must yield to the superior wisdom of philosophy".[55] The essay was controversial, particularly among the conservative professors at the University of Berlin. Marx decided instead to submit his thesis to the more liberal University of Jena, whose faculty awarded him his Ph.D. in April 1841.[2][56] As Marx and Bauer were both atheists, in March 1841 they began plans for a journal entitled Archiv des Atheismus (Atheistic Archives), but it never came to fruition. In July, Marx and Bauer took a trip to Bonn from Berlin. There they scandalised their class by getting drunk, laughing in church and galloping through the streets on donkeys.[57]
Marx was considering an academic career, but this path was barred by the government's growing opposition to classical liberalism and the Young Hegelians.[58] Marx moved to Cologne in 1842, where he became a journalist, writing for the radical newspaper Rheinische Zeitung (Rhineland News), expressing his early views on socialism and his developing interest in economics. Marx criticised right-wing European governments as well as figures in the liberal and socialist movements, whom he thought ineffective or counter-productive.[59] The newspaper attracted the attention of the Prussian government censors, who checked every issue for seditious material before printing, as Marx lamented: "Our newspaper has to be presented to the police to be sniffed at, and if the police nose smells anything un-Christian or un-Prussian, the newspaper is not allowed to appear".[60] After the Rheinische Zeitung published an article strongly criticising the Russian monarchy, Tsar Nicholas I requested it be banned and Prussia's government complied in 1843.[61]
Laozi
Laozi 老子 | |
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 Laozi by Zhang Lu; Ming dynasty (1368–1644) | |
| Born | Li Er Unknown, 6th century – 4th century BCE |
| Died | Unknown, late 4th century BCE |
| Children | traditionally Li Zong (son) |
| Family | traditionally Li Jing (father) Lady Yishou (mother) |
| Era | Ancient philosophy |
| Region | Chinese philosophy |
| School | Taoism |
Notable ideas | Tao, wu wei |
show Influenced | |
| Laozi | |||
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.svg) "Lǎozǐ" in seal script (top) and regular Chinese characters (bottom) | |||
| Chinese name | |||
| Chinese | 老子 | ||
| Hanyu Pinyin | Lǎozǐ | ||
| Literal meaning | "Old Master" | ||
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| Clan name: | Li (李, Lǐ) |
| Given name: | Er (耳, Ěr) |
| Courtesy name: | Boyang (伯陽, Bóyáng), Dan (聃, Dān) |
| Styled: | Old Master (老子, Lǎozǐ) |
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Laozi (Chinese: 老子, Mandarin: [làu.tsɹ̩]; commonly translated as "Old Master") also rendered as Lao Tzu (/ˈlaʊ ˈtsuː, -ˈdzʌ/),[2][3] or Lao-Tze (/ˈlaʊ ˈdzeɪ/),[4] was an ancient Chinese philosopher and writer.[5] He is the reputed author of the Tao Te Ching,[6] 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.[7] 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. Laozi's work has been embraced by various anti-authoritarian movements,[8] and has had a profound impact on subsequent Chinese philosophers, who have both commended and criticized his work extensively.
Names[edit]
Laozi itself is a Chinese honorific title: 老 (Old *rˤu ʔ, "old, venerable")[9] and 子 (Old *tsəʔ, "master").[9] In traditional accounts, Laozi's actual personal name is usually given as Li Er (李耳, Old *rəʔ nəʔ,[9] Mod. Lǐ Ěr) and his courtesy name as Boyang (trad. 伯陽, simp. 伯阳, Old *Pˤrak-lang,[9] Mod. Bóyáng). A prominent posthumous name was Li Dan (李聃, Lǐ Dān).[10][11][12] 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).[13] The name Lǎodān also appears interchangeably with Lǎozi in early Daoist texts such as the Zhuangzi,[13] and may also be the name by which Laozi was addressed by Confucius when they possibly met.[13] 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)".[14]
The honorific title Laozi has been romanized numerous ways, sometimes leading to confusion. Increasingly common in the 21st century is Laozi, which is based on the Hanyu Pinyin system.[15] From around the 1920s to the 1990s, Lao Tzu was the most common romanization.[16][15] In the 19th century, the title was usually romanized as Lao-tse.[15][17] Other forms include the hyphenated variants Lao-tze,[18] Lao-tsu.[19]
Historical views[edit]
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".[20] The earliest certain reference to the present figure of Laozi is found in the 1st‑century BCE Records of the Grand Historian collected by the historian Sima Qian from earlier accounts.[21] In one account, Laozi was said to be a contemporary of Confucius during the 6th or 5th century BCE. His surname was Li and his personal name was Er or Dan. He was an official in the imperial archives and wrote a book in two parts before departing to the west. In another, Laozi was a different contemporary of Confucius titled Lao Laizi (老莱子) and wrote a book in 15 parts. In a third, he was the court astrologer Lao Dan who lived during the 4th century BCE reign of Duke Xian of the Qin Dynasty.[22][23] The oldest text of the Tao Te Ching so far recovered was part of the Guodian Chu Slips. It was written on bamboo slips, and dates to the late 4th century BCE.[6]
According to traditional accounts, Laozi was a scholar who worked as the Keeper of the Archives for the royal court of Zhou.[24] This reportedly allowed him broad access to the works of the Yellow Emperor and other classics of the time. The stories assert that Laozi never opened a formal school but nonetheless attracted a large number of students and loyal disciples. There are many variations of a story retelling his encounter with Confucius, most famously in the Zhuangzi.[25][26]
He was sometimes held to have come from the village of Chu Jen in Chu.[27] He was said to be the son of the Censor-in-Chief of the Zhou dynasty Li Jing (李敬) and his wife Lady Yishou (益壽氏). In accounts where Laozi married, he was said to have had a son named Li Zong (李宗) who became a celebrated soldier of Wei during the Warring States period.
The story tells of Zong the Warrior who defeats an enemy and triumphs, and then abandons the corpses of the enemy soldiers to be eaten by vultures. By coincidence Laozi, traveling and teaching the way of the Tao, comes on the scene and is revealed to be the father of Zong, from whom he was separated in childhood. Laozi tells his son that it is better to treat respectfully a beaten enemy, and that the disrespect to their dead would cause his foes to seek revenge. Convinced, Zong orders his soldiers to bury the enemy dead. Funeral mourning is held for the dead of both parties and a lasting peace is made.
Many clans of the Li family trace their descent to Laozi,[28] including the emperors of the Tang dynasty.[29][28][30] This family was known as the Longxi Li lineage (隴西李氏). According to the Simpkinses, while many (if not all) of these lineages are questionable, they provide a testament to Laozi's impact on Chinese culture.[31]
The third story in Sima Qian states that Laozi grew weary of the moral decay of life in Chengzhou and noted the kingdom's decline. He ventured west to live as a hermit in the unsettled frontier at the age of 80. At the western gate of the city (or kingdom), he was recognized by the guard Yinxi. The sentry asked the old master to record his wisdom for the good of the country before he would be permitted to pass. The text Laozi wrote was said to be the Tao Te Ching, although the present version of the text includes additions from later periods. In some versions of the tale, the sentry was so touched by the work that he became a disciple and left with Laozi, never to be seen again.[32] In others, the "Old Master" journeyed all the way to India and was the teacher of Siddartha Gautama, the Buddha. Others say he was the Buddha himself.[25][33]
A seventh-century work, the Sandong Zhunang ("Pearly Bag of the Three Caverns"), embellished the relationship between Laozi and Yinxi. Laozi pretended to be a farmer when reaching the western gate, but was recognized by Yinxi, who asked to be taught by the great master. Laozi was not satisfied by simply being noticed by the guard and demanded an explanation. Yinxi expressed his deep desire to find the Tao and explained that his long study of astrology allowed him to recognize Laozi's approach. Yinxi was accepted by Laozi as a disciple. This is considered an exemplary interaction between Taoist master and disciple, reflecting the testing a seeker must undergo before being accepted. A would-be adherent is expected to prove his determination and talent, clearly expressing his wishes and showing that he had made progress on his own towards realizing the Tao.[34]
The Pearly Bag of the Three Caverns continues the parallel of an adherent's quest. Yinxi received his ordination when Laozi transmitted the Tao Te Ching, along with other texts and precepts, just as Taoist adherents receive a number of methods, teachings and scriptures at ordination. This is only an initial ordination and Yinxi still needed an additional period to perfect his virtue, thus Laozi gave him three years to perfect his Tao. Yinxi gave himself over to a full-time devotional life. After the appointed time, Yinxi again demonstrates determination and perfect trust, sending out a black sheep to market as the agreed sign. He eventually meets again with Laozi, who announces that Yinxi's immortal name is listed in the heavens and calls down a heavenly procession to clothe Yinxi in the garb of immortals. The story continues that Laozi bestowed a number of titles upon Yinxi and took him on a journey throughout the universe, even into the nine heavens. After this fantastic journey, the two sages set out to western lands of the barbarians. The training period, reuniting and travels represent the attainment of the highest religious rank in medieval Taoism called "Preceptor of the Three Caverns". In this legend, Laozi is the perfect Taoist master and Yinxi is the ideal Taoist student. Laozi is presented as the Tao personified, giving his teaching to humanity for their salvation. Yinxi follows the formal sequence of preparation, testing, training and attainment.[35]
The story of Laozi has taken on strong religious overtones since the Han dynasty. As Taoism took root, Laozi was worshipped as a god. Belief in the revelation of the Tao from the divine Laozi resulted in the formation of the Way of the Celestial Masters, the first organized religious Taoist sect. In later mature Taoist tradition, Laozi came to be seen as a personification of the Tao. He is said to have undergone numerous "transformations" and taken on various guises in various incarnations throughout history to initiate the faithful in the Way. Religious Taoism often holds that the "Old Master" did not disappear after writing the Tao Te Ching but rather spent his life traveling and revealing the Tao.[36]
Taoist myths state that Laozi was conceived when his mother gazed upon a falling star. He supposedly remained in her womb for 62 years before being born while his mother was leaning against a plum tree. (The Chinese surname Li shares its character with "plum".) Laozi was said to have emerged as a grown man with a full grey beard and long earlobes, both symbols of wisdom and long life.[37][38] Other myths state that he was reborn 13 times after his first life during the days of Fuxi. In his last incarnation as Laozi, he lived nine hundred and ninety years and spent his life traveling to reveal the Tao.[36]
![According to Chinese legend, Laozi left China for the west on a water buffalo.[39]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Laozi.jpg)
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Have something to say? Say it See it Feel it Live it then take It apart until you know what It is and As you were before you were born, feel the sound of it rattling around in the outbox smell the sight of it as the juices in your brain bag are fed little light waves of electric combinatory discombinatory salty sea solution sliding stealthily supplying the juice for the other end of the switch turned on by the turn on that turns on the on like one is when one is on and one is when one is idling on as the slumber soothes silky roads of well traversed travelers traipsing trails of tuned toned teeny tiny twirls of primes pumping nines into sixes and threes like humming honey bees evens evening out the odds as the unknown unknowns puddle sing a shiny bling and bring the ear funnel Z as close as eyeball close can see...z.z..z...