FIGURIN, blanc de chine. Qingdynastin, 1700-tal.

Laozi is said to have tired of life in the Zhou court as it grew increasingly morally corrupt. So he left and rode on a water buffalo to the western border of the Chinese empire. Although he was dressed as a farmer, the border official recognised him and asked him to write down his wisdom. According to this legend, what Laozi wrote became the sacred text called the Tao Te Ching.