Explore

Compare

Two thinkers, side by side

Life

Laozi

c. 571 BCE

ChineseDaoist

Born State of Chu

The way that can be told is not the real way. He wrote one short book and vanished westward on an ox.

Zhuangzi

c. 369 BCE – c. 286 BCE

ChineseDaoist

Born State of Song

Am I a man who dreamed he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming it is a man? He turned philosophy into wild, luminous stories.

Connection

Laozi foundational influence Zhuangzi — Zhuangzi inherited and expanded Laozi's teachings. Where the Dao De Jing is spare, the Zhuangzi is wild and inventive.

Shared Ideas

The Dao Wu Wei

Ideas

The Dao Wu Wei Nature

The Dao Wu Wei Inner Freedom

Words

“The way that can be told is not the real way.”
— Laozi

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
— Laozi

“Once Zhuang Zhou dreamt he was a butterfly. A butterfly flitting about. He did not know he was Zhuang Zhou.”
— Zhuangzi

“The fish trap exists because of the fish. Once you have gotten the fish, you can forget the trap.”
— Zhuangzi

Key Moments

c. 571 BCE

Traditional Birth in Chu

c. 500 BCE

Writing the Dao De Jing

c. 500 BCE

Departure Westward

c. 500 BCE

Teaching Wu Wei

c. 369 BCE

Born in Song

c. 340 BCE

Declining the Prime Ministership

c. 330 BCE

The Butterfly Dream

c. 286 BCE

Death in Song

Works

Dao De Jing

Zhuangzi

Explore

Compare

Two thinkers, side by side

Life

Laozi

c. 571 BCE

ChineseDaoist

Born State of Chu

The way that can be told is not the real way. He wrote one short book and vanished westward on an ox.

Zhuangzi

c. 369 BCE – c. 286 BCE

ChineseDaoist

Born State of Song

Am I a man who dreamed he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming it is a man? He turned philosophy into wild, luminous stories.

Connection

Laozi foundational influence Zhuangzi — Zhuangzi inherited and expanded Laozi's teachings. Where the Dao De Jing is spare, the Zhuangzi is wild and inventive.

Shared Ideas

The Dao Wu Wei

Ideas

The Dao Wu Wei Nature

The Dao Wu Wei Inner Freedom

Words

“The way that can be told is not the real way.”
— Laozi

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
— Laozi

“Once Zhuang Zhou dreamt he was a butterfly. A butterfly flitting about. He did not know he was Zhuang Zhou.”
— Zhuangzi

“The fish trap exists because of the fish. Once you have gotten the fish, you can forget the trap.”
— Zhuangzi

Key Moments

c. 571 BCE

Traditional Birth in Chu

c. 500 BCE

Writing the Dao De Jing

c. 500 BCE

Departure Westward

c. 500 BCE

Teaching Wu Wei

c. 369 BCE

Born in Song

c. 340 BCE

Declining the Prime Ministership

c. 330 BCE

The Butterfly Dream

c. 286 BCE

Death in Song

Works

Dao De Jing

Zhuangzi