Lǎo Dān shì Lǎozǐ de biémíng, Dàojiā de chuàngshǐrén.
Lao Dan is another name for Laozi, the founder of Daoism.
Tips
history
聃 is not used on its own in modern Chinese. It survives almost only in 老聃, the personal name of Laozi (Li Er), founder of Daoism. The original sense was 'ears with no outer rim'.
The 耳 (ear) radical on the left carries the literal meaning: the word first described long ears with no rim. It groups 聃 with other hearing words like 聋 deaf and 聪 sharp-eared.
Right side 冉 gives the sound, drifting from rǎn to dān. Its 'drooping' flavor suits the original picture of soft, hanging ears, so it carries a faint hint of meaning alongside the sound.
