Classic of the Way and Virtue 道德真经

Also known as Laozi and The Five Thousand Character Classic.

Traditionally attributed to Lao Dan, a historiographer of the Zhou Dynasty in the late Spring and Autumn Period, it is alternatively believed to have been compiled during the Warring States Period. The book expounds the Taoist cosmology, socio-political thought, and the principles of personal self-cultivation and conduct in the world.

It posits that the primordial, formless Tao is the origin of all heaven and earth and all things. It advocates that both governing a state and cultivating oneself should follow the laws of nature, uphold tranquility and non-action (wu wei), so as to achieve lasting peace and stability, as well as longevity and eternal vision. After the Qin and Han dynasties, Taoist scholars and practitioners of all subsequent dynasties revered this book as a fundamental classic, and numerous commentaries on it have been written. Today, The Daozang (Taoist Canon) includes two volumes of the plain text version of the Tao Te Ching in the Benwen Category of the Dongshen Section, along with two volumes of Ancient Text Version of the Tao Te Ching compiled by Fu Yi in the early Tang Dynasty. Additionally, the Yujue Category of the Dongshen Section contains more than fifty commentaries on the Tao Te Ching from various dynasties.

The silk manuscript of the Tao Te Ching unearthed from the Mawangdui Han Tombs in Changsha in modern times is the earliest surviving version of the text.