Audiobook 500 Quotes of Lao Tsu for Meditation. Lao Tsu, also known as Lao Tzu or Laozi, is an ancient Chinese philosopher and sage, and an absolutely central figure in Asiatic culture. He is known as the author of the Tao Te Ching or Daodejing and the founder of Taoism. In traditional China, Taoism is a way of living in harmony with the Tao, "way", "path", or "principle", something that is both the source of, and the force behind, everything that exists.