Question

daoists thought that living in nature brought people closer to the dao, which means \the way\ in english.
many historians attribute the first daoist text to a man known as laozi (laow-zuh).
read the passages about laozi. then complete the sentence below.
sima qian, chinese historian, around 145–89 bce
laozi was a man of chu-ren village of the lai district of hu province in chu...he was a historian in charge of the archives of zhou.
bryan w. van norden, american philosopher, 2011
\laozi\ really means \old master\ and does not appear to be an actual name....many modern scholars are drawn to a simple explanation...: stories about several different \old masters\ were combined to form the legend of \laozi.\
complete the sentence.
based on the passages above, ancient and modern scholars disagree about ________.
whether laozi was a real person
which \old master\ was the real laozi
what the name \laozi\ means
where laozi was actually born

Explanation:

• Sima Qian (ancient) describes Laozi as a real person with a specific background.
• Bryan W. Van Norden (modern) suggests "Laozi" might be a combination of stories about different "old masters" and not an actual individual's name.
• The other options: The second option is incorrect as modern scholars don't focus on identifying a single "old master" as real Laozi but question if Laozi was a real person. The third option is incorrect as both seem to agree "Laozi" means "Old Master". The fourth option is incorrect as the passage doesn't show a disagreement about Laozi's birthplace. So the disagreement is about whether Laozi was a real person.

Answer:

whether Laozi was a real person