Also known as Tao Te Ching (道德經, pronounced d ào dé jīng), the title is often translated as The Book of the Way of Virtue, and it is one of the most translated books in the world. This book of prose contains the essence of Taoist wisdom. Later in life he wrote the Daodejing, the foundational work of Taoism. Little else is known about Laozi's life, except that he lived around the sixth and fifth centuries B.C.E, worked as librarian in the Zhou Dynasty’s imperial archives, and possibly met Confucius for a philosophical discussion. According to one legend, he was born with white hair after staying in his mother’s womb for 81 years. Lao-Tzu is also spelled Lao-Tze, Lao-Tsu, and the current standardized spelling-Laozi. But why was he the ultimate old man? First, we don’t even know his age. Yet I am convinced that no other character has ever commanded as much reverence, held as much weight on stage, or walked as slowly as the ultimate old man, the forefather of all Taoists, the “Old Master” Lao-Tzu.
This year, I am three different Taoist masters, each with his own unique beard. Just last year, my beards were white, gray, and golden as I transfigured from an old Taoist to an old Buddhist monk to the Dragon King of Sea. In 2014, I flew in from the heavens to bestow the wonder boy Ne Zha with the magical Cosmic Wheel. In 2013, my daughter was snatched in the market by bandits. In 2011, I was the old abbot who kicked out the drunk-monk Lu Zhishen. Since writing my first blog six years ago about performing bearded roles at age 18, I’ve returned to the stage many more times as old men-hopefully wiser each time.īack in 2010, I played Xiao He, the founding minister of the Han Dynasty.
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