As with early Gnostic Christianity, Taoism is concerned with the appropriate and formless “Way”, or Tao, of all things. Confucianism has much to say about politics, but Taoism is far more ontological and existential. While Confucianism, formed mainly from the aforementioned basis of the Analects, can be said to advocate for a strong state, rigid mores, and deference to cultural customs, the Tao Te Ching is uniquely distinct. In Chinese Daoism, he is venerated as one of the great elders present at creation (Taji) and is credited as the author of the Tao Te Ching. He is said to have been a sage of the royal court, or also a magistrate or astrologer, perhaps during the Warring States Period, though others claim he was a contemporary of Confucius. The Tao Te Ching, sometimes translated as the “Classic of the Virtuous Way”, is rumored to have been written by Lao Tzu.
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