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Secondary sourceBook1927

The Teaching of the Old Boy

Tom MacInnes · 1927

A 1927 book by Tom MacInnes studying Laozi's teachings, part of a planned work on five religious founders.

A later study placing Laozi among the founders of world religions, reflecting ongoing uncertainty about his historical existence.

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The Teaching of the Old BoyPDF · 236 pages
Tom MacInnes, The Teaching of the Old Boy, 1927. Microfilm scan, Internet Archive.

About this source

What it is

This is a book by Tom MacInnes, published in 1927 by J. M. Dent & Sons in London and Toronto. The copy here is a microfilm scan held by the Internet Archive. The author's note explains the book grew out of a larger planned project called Five Religion Founders, examining teachers believed to have founded major world religions.

Why it matters

This book shows how Laozi was grouped together with other major religious founders in the early 20th century and studied as a serious subject of comparative religion. It reveals how Western authors tried to make sense of ancient teachers whose historical existence was uncertain but whose influence was undeniable.

Look closer

  • Why does the author compare Laozi to founders of other religions?
  • What does the author's note reveal about his doubts regarding these teachers' historical existence?
  • How might a book written in 1927 differ from one written closer to Laozi's own time?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Laozi on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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