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Secondary sourceBookc. 4th-3rd century BCE

Tao Te Ching

Laozi · c. 4th-3rd century BCE

The foundational Taoist text traditionally attributed to Laozi, teaching the Dao, wu wei and the strength of yielding.

The core text traditionally attributed to Laozi, through which his philosophy is known.

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Photograph of a long vertical manuscript fragment with brown, degraded edges, written in black ink in columns of seal-script-style Chinese characters separated by faint red ruling lines. Light patches and damage are visible across the surface.
Taoist manuscript fragment, ink on silk, 2nd century BCE, Han Dynasty, from Mawangdui Tomb 3. Hunan Provincial Museum.

About this source

What it is

The Tao Te Ching (also called the Laozi) is an ancient Chinese classic traditionally attributed to the sage Laozi. Its oldest excavated fragments date to around 300 BCE, though scholars debate exactly when and by whom it was composed. It has been translated more than almost any other text in world literature.

Why it matters

This short book became the foundational text of Taoism, shaping Chinese philosophy, religion, art and medicine for over two thousand years. Because so little is known for certain about Laozi himself, the book is really our main window into his teaching of the Dao, non-action (wu wei), and the power of softness and yielding.

Look closer

  • Why might a text be influential even if we are not sure who wrote it?
  • What does the opening passage suggest about how the author thinks words can describe reality?
  • How might different translations change the meaning of ideas like 'the Dao'?

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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Partial view of a museum display of thin bamboo slips standing upright in a row, each with vertical Chinese characters. Printed black text on white panels in front of the slips reads in columns.Artifact

Primary source

Bamboo Texts of Guodian

c. 300 BCE

Photograph of a long, damaged strip of silk-like manuscript with rows of dark brown Chinese characters in vertical columns on a tan background, with numbered column labels below (15 上, 13 上, 11 上, 9 上, 7 上, 5 上, 3 上, 1 上). The strip is torn and fragmented, with a red seal mark near the lower right.Book

Primary source

Mawangdui Silk Texts of the Laozi

Anonymous Han scribes · c. 200-168 BCE

Photograph of a handwritten classical Chinese manuscript page in vertical columns of brush-written characters on aged paper, with a title line at the top right reading as a chapter heading from the Zhuangzi.Book

Secondary source

Zhuangzi

Zhuang Zhou · c. 300 BCE

Faded fresco on a tan plastered wall showing several robed figures standing in a row, painted in green, grey and black tones, with a blue painted band at the top. Part of the fresco is worn and discolored.Painting

Secondary source

Confucius and Laozi fresco, Dongping tomb

Anonymous Chinese painter of the Western Han period · Western Han period, c. 2000 years old

An open old Chinese woodblock-printed book in a museum display case, with vertical columns of black characters on yellowed paper. A Chinese caption card below reads 呂氏春秋 (Lüshi Chunqiu).Book

Secondary source

Lüshi Chunqiu

Lü Buwei (compiler) · c. 239 BCE

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