Question

Why did Lao-Tse leave China?
A. In pursuit of spiritual life.
B. He was disgusted with the prevailing corruption of his time.
C. He was expatriated.
D. All of the above

Answer 1

Hint: The philosopher, Lao Tzu, means 'Old Sage' It is referred to. 'In comparison to a body of writings written by many and handed down over centuries, scholars differ on who is Lao Tzu and even if the Tao Te Ching has been drawn by one single author.

Complete Answer:
Lao-Tse –
There are very few known facts about the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, who is a pioneer of Daoism, still a common philosophical practice (also translated as Taoism). An old contemporary of Confucius, Pythagoras & Patanjali and also of the Zhou Dynasty, in the 6th century B.C. he is reportedly a record keeper. Via Buddhism, Daoism would affect Shintoism significantly. Lao Tzu and his contemporaries are little known. Maybe he was absolutely mythical. Certainly (as some legend stories say) it is quite unlikely that he was born when his mother saw a falling star or an old man who had a long earring or lived for 990 years. He is said to have tired of living in the court of Zhou because of the moral hypocrisy and corruption that it has increased. So he went to the western frontier of the Chinese Empire on a water buffalo. Since he was dressed as a peasant, it was noticed by the border official and requested to write down his experience. The legend says that the texts written by Lao Tzu were the holy text called Tao Te Ching. After this has been published, Lao Tzu is said to have crossed the border and vanished into a hermit from history. In fact, the Tao Te Ching is probably the compilation overtime of the works of several writers. Yet Lao Tzu & Tao Te Ching's stories have spent over 2000 years and have been astonishingly enhanced in various Chinese philosophical schools. So, Lao-Tse was horrified at the political intrigues and corruption that existed in his time. Thus, he left China in a quiet residence.

Hence, Option B is the correct answer.

Note: The theory of Lao Tzu encourages naturalness, spontaneity, and independence from social norms and wishes. Lao Tzu refers to the Tao, which is the path, to the absolute order and the last basis of truth. Laozi was worshipped as a deity when Taoism took hold. Trust in the Tao's revelation from the divine Laozi led to the founding of the Way of the Celestial Masters, the first organized Taoist religious sect. Laozi came to be viewed as a personification of the Tao in later mature tao culture.