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Tao Te Ching

icecream   November 25th, 2010 10:59p.m.

I just finsihed reading the book -- in English, obviously -- after Skrittering and had an interesting insight: the author, Lao Tzu, was an old man. Lao = 老 = old.

jww1066   November 26th, 2010 8:17a.m.

It's a pseudonym. Wikipedia says

Laozi translated literally from Chinese means "old master" or "old one", and is generally considered honorific.

west316   November 26th, 2010 4:19p.m.

It can also be a term of endearment for a person who is older than you. My landlord had me call him 老潘。 I am in my late 20s whereas he appeared to be in his late 40s or early 50s.

murrayjames   November 26th, 2010 11:36p.m.

Right. Friends and colleagues use this, too, even when the age difference is slight.

老 + surname, eg. 老刘
小 + surname, eg. 小王

murrayjames   November 26th, 2010 11:37p.m.

小 + surname, eg. 小王 (for people younger than you)

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