Why is Li Er called Laozi by later generations?

Laozi is the founder of Taoism, whose original name is Li Er, and his thoughts advocate nature. He was a Chen native in the Spring and Autumn Period. No matter at home or in the world, Lao Tzu's position is very high. He was a thinker, writer, philosopher, historian and founder of Taoism in ancient China, and was honored as Laozi by later generations. However, many people wonder why Sun Wu is regarded as a grandson, Kong Qiu as Confucius and Li Er as Laozi, which is totally unreasonable.

First of all, because Li Er had a great influence in ancient times, everyone respected Li Er. Even Confucius once asked Li Er how high his knowledge and ability were, which had a very favorable influence on the country and people. In order to show more respect for Li Er, everyone respectfully calls Li Er Lao Zi.

Secondly, in the official discourse of the Spring and Autumn Period at that time, Li Yin's pronunciation was very similar to that of the old characters, which led some people to mistake Li Ziyin for Laozi. In addition, the information was relatively closed at that time, and it was difficult to spread in kind. Sometimes this misunderstanding spreads widely, and finally everyone regards Li Er as Lao Zi.

I also heard that Li Er was born as an old elephant, and his beard turned white when he was young. I think it's because he is too developed and thinks too much, but because he was born with an old elephant, everyone likes to be called Li Raul. After a long time, everyone took Li Er as Lao Zi.

In addition, at that time, Laozi's school may be considered as the best in the world, and Laozi also became the mythical image of an old gentleman. It can be seen that Li Er's high status is probably Lao Zi's own opinion, but some people think that he is the best in the world and Lao Zi is the best in the world. Of course, you should call me Lao Zi. This is the origin of Li Er being called Lao Zi.

However, some people may argue that either of these two statements is not very rigorous. We can only regard it as a speculation, and perhaps the real reason will stay in the long river of history forever and never reveal the truth. But Lao Tzu's contribution to later generations is really great. Anyway, it makes sense to call Li Er Lao Zi.