Lie Yuzi 列御子, the founder of the School of Valuing Emptiness

Lie Yukou was a native of Putian in the State of Zheng (present-day Zhengzhou, Henan) during the reign of King Weilie of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. He was a renowned thinker, fabulist, and litterateur in the Warring States Period, and a representative figure of the Taoist school. At that time, people used to add the character "Zi" (meaning "master") after the surname of a learned person as a sign of respect, so Lie Yukou was also known as "Liezi". During the Tianbao period of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Liezi was conferred the title of "Chongxu Zhenren" (Perfect Man of Vacuity and Emptiness) by imperial edict.

According to records, Liezi lived a life content with poverty, seeking neither fame nor fortune, and never entered officialdom. He lived in seclusion in the State of Zheng for forty years, devoting himself to writing twenty chapters, totaling about 100,000 words. The surviving book Liezi contains well-known fables such as Yugong Moves the Mountains, The Man from Qi Worries About the Sky, Two Children Argue About the Sun, Jichang Learns Archery, and Tang Wen, which are household names and widely circulated.

Liezi was not only erudite but also had clear standards of right and wrong and life principles, with noble moral character and self-cultivation. Once, an emissary visited Liezi in the State of Zheng and found that this revered Taoist scholar, whom he admired, often studied assiduously even when he was hungry. When Ziyang, the prime minister of the State of Zheng, heard about this, he immediately sent an official to deliver grain to Liezi. Unmoved, Liezi said to the official, "I cannot accept rewards without having rendered meritorious service." The official had no choice but to take the grain back to report.

Liezi's wife was puzzled by this, and Liezi explained, "Ziyang does not understand the greatness of my 'Tao'; he merely wants to fish for fame and reputation." Later, as Liezi had expected, the people revolted and killed the high official Ziyang before long. If Liezi had accepted the gift and been used by Ziyang at that time, he would certainly not have escaped disaster.