Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to main content

Revisiting the Date of Daodejing in Light of the Guodian Manuscript

  • Zhi Chen*
  • , Yiwen Qiao
  • *Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in book/report/conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

This chapter examines the approximate dating of the Daodejing based on early Chinese excavated manuscripts. The Guodian Laozi text, which contains various interpolations and corruptions under the influence of similar phonetic and script forms, clearly shows that this version aligns with other excavated literature from around the fourth century BCE. This casts doubt on the many theories which postdate the Daodejing to the late Warring States period.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationDao Companion to the Philosophy of the Daodejing
EditorsXiaogan Liu, Ai Yuan
PublisherSpringer Cham
Chapter4
Pages79-95
Number of pages17
Edition1st
ISBN (Electronic)9783032001061
ISBN (Print)9783032001054, 9783032001085
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 3 May 2026

Publication series

NameDao Companions to Chinese Philosophy
Volume20
ISSN (Print)2211-0275
ISSN (Electronic)2542-8780

User-Defined Keywords

  • Daodejing
  • Dating
  • Excavated manuscripts
  • Guodian Laozi

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Revisiting the Date of Daodejing in Light of the Guodian Manuscript'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this