Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu (or Laozi in Pinyin) is a legendary philosopher from Imperial China. He supposedly wrote "The Way and the Virtue" (Tao Te Ching), before departing to the west to withdraw from this world. According to legend, the guard at the border, recognizing Lao Tzu's wisdom by his long ears, asked for a record of Lao Tzu's wisdom. Lao Tzu quickly wrote the Tao Te Ching, and wandered off into the sunset.

Thinking hardly
or hardly thinking?
Philosophy
Major trains of thought
The good, the bad
and the brain fart
Come to think of it
v - t - e
—Tao Te Ching

During the Han Dynasty, there was a particular variety of Taoism referred to as Yellow-Lao Taoism, which venerated Lao Tzu and the mythical Yellow Emperor as deities.

Studying the "Way and the Virtue" can consume a whole lifetime, even for someone with a strong grasp of Classical Chinese. It can also be quickly yoinked to make your own half-baked philosophy sound important and mystical.

In modern times

Barrington Hall (a residence hall at the University of California at Berkeley) coopted Lao Tzu's quote to be the Hall motto, purportedly attributed to a mythical Onghh Yaangh, "Those who say don't know. Those who know don't say." In 1989 a lawsuit was filed against Barrington Hall for being a center of drugs and crime. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 1991 that the gangster-inspired Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) was applicable to the case, in part because the Hall motto implied a "code of silence".[1][2] The RICO charge was overturned on appeal in 1992.[3]

gollark: No, it would play them to you throughout the day.
gollark: Repeatedly, until you acknowledge them.
gollark: You could set up scripts to read them out to you via TTS at random times.
gollark: You really should follow these things by RSS reader.
gollark: I can compress images nicely for thumbnails so it isn't really a huge issue. I'm mostly concerned about actually having good images.

References
  1. The Fall of Barrington Hall: A Rebuttal to Assertions of the Management of the University Students Cooperative Association (USCA) by Joel J. Rane (2006).
  2. Use of Racketeering Law in Tenant Lawsuit Upheld by Henry Weinstein (July 27, 1991) Los Angeles Times.
  3. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit: 965 F.2d 783 60 USLW 2789, 75 Ed. Law Rep. 782, RICO Bus.Disp.Guide 8020
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