The first Taoist philosopher name Lao-Tzu. The suffix -tzu means "master" or "teacher" and the word Lao means "Old man." Thus, Lao-Tzu simply means, "The Old Teacher" which makes some scholars suggest that he might not be a historical figure so much as wisdom personified in folklore. One tradition states that Lao-Tzu's actual name was Li Erh and he was born in the state of Ch'u before 551 BCE, which would make him a slightly older contemporary of Confucius.