Key Texts

• Laozi lived during the 6th century BC 
• Author of the  Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) 

• Lived during the 4th Century BC, during the Warring States 
• Author of the Zhuangzi 

Dao De Jing: Written sometime around the 4th century BCE  who was not a real historical figure, rather someone created by the historian Sima Qian centuries after, the Dao De Jing is the fundamental text of Daoism. It was written by the legendary Laozi, a former worker at a royal library who had become impatient with corruption and the pain and suffering caused by humans. He wrote the Dao De Jing for a gatekeeper before leaving behind civilization and living the rest of his days in solitude in nature. The Dao De Jing contained the idea of the Dao, and outlined how to follow the Dao through stress on inaction, transformation, tranquility, and simplicity to name a few. The Dao De Jing consists of poeticized lines introducing the Dao and the ways in which it is to be harmonized with.  

Most of the Zhuangzi is attributed to Zhuang Zhou, a Chinese philosopher during the Warring States period sometime in the 4th century BCE, with some other parts written by Daoists over the next two centuries. The Zhuangzi is considered to be the second most important text of Daoism, and its importance derives mostly from the context of the Warring States period. It emphasizes the same Daoist values as the Dao De Jing, and stresses the importance of the practice of spontaneity and relativity, as well as the importance of disregarding language and becoming a sage. The Zhuangzi addresses the other Chinese practices of Confucianism and Legalism, and focuses on the rejection of rulers and the elite in order to stay uninvolved in “society” as a part of the Dao. It is made up of dialogues, parables, fables, analogies, and jokes that all teach the Dao as a sobering reaction to the corruption and society in China during the Warring States period, emphasizing the importance of not getting involved in human-made structure and accepting inaction and nature as part of the Dao.