All of the major Chinese thinkers like Laozi, Zhuangzi, Kongzi, have the same ending, Zi, which is not a family name, and they clearly do not share the same ancestors. As these thinkers are undoubtedly sages, teachers, and authorities in their fields, Zi is commonly translated as Master. Looking up 子 (zi) in an etymological dictionary (Wieger, 1965, p. 94 a) (Wieger, 1965, p. 39) :
- A new born child, swathed up; it is the reason why the legs are not visible
- By extension disciple then a sage, a teacher.
A new born child also explain why Laozi is also called the Old Child
Another argument for their being called (zi) is that the Emperor, as the son of Heaven and thus a lineage holder, believed that calling someone (Zi) was a way of recognizing them as sons and hence lineage holder per se. (see Wieger, 1965, p. 94 a) (see Mathews, 1993, p. 6939).
According to Kroll (Kroll, 2017, p. 628), the archaic ideogram of 子 can also refer to a plant’s or grain’s seed. As the
seed matures into a sprout, it germinates and grows into a head that serves its purpose.
As we live and progress through our time called life, we are like seeds sown in the soil. Laozi, Zhuangzi, Kongzi, Liehzi, and Menzi all plant seeds of wisdom in our brains and hearts as we read respective works, we begin to gain access to the sage within and complete ourselves.
A fresh sprout, on the other hand, requires protection and embracement, and by hugging the sprout, the idea of a mother embracing, nourishing her child comes to mind ideogram for woman 女 (nǚ). So maybe we can see why in Dao De Jing the feminine aspect is mentioned so much.
There are various ways to comprehend what (zi) implies, and this is my understanding at this time. Who knows maybe it will change as I grasp the tail of the bird.