 yin yang  The Tao te Ching of Lao Tzu  S. L.  Lao Tzu  The
tradditional view is that the Tao Te Ching, the central classic
of the taoist school of thought, was written by a man named Lao
Tzu who was an older contemporary of Confucius (551-479BC). Many
modern scholars however believe that there was no such
historical personage and that the work is perhaps better viewed
as an anthology compiled of short passages, some reflecting the
doctrines of the time and others representing sayings of
considerable antiquity. Either way it seems likely that the work
is a record of an oral traddition and thereby without unique
definitive interpretation; many of its ideas were probably
common property to the followers of various different schools
sharing a common tendency in thought.  Defining the Tao  The tao
[way] is said to be that principle responsible for the creation
and support of the universe. Since it exists before the
universe, it can be thought of (if only perhaps in a figurative
sense) as the generating force.  Ea