He washes the ears of his donkey after receiving a political message.
In one story, this figure was conceived when his mother saw a baby wrapped in the sun, moon, and clouds. When he was born, three suns rose and nine dragons gave him magic water to drink. Born with the name Li Erh, he learned to swallow the rays of the sun. He washes the ears of his donkey after receiving a political message. Near the end of his life, this man was said to have climbed Mount Kun Lun. He was told to write (*) five thousand characters after Yinxi stopped him at the Hangu pass. From those characters, he produced a work that includes the directive "He who knows does not speak" among its eighty-one chapters, popularizing the concept of wu-wei. For 10 points, name this author of the Tao Te Ching.
In one story, this figure was conceived when his mother saw a baby wrapped in the sun, moon, and clouds.
{Lao Tzu} [or {Laozi}]