Laozi (“Old Master,” sixth or third century b.c.e.) The concept of Dao is more often associated with the figure Laozi and the classic Dao de Jing (The Book of the Way and Its Power) than with ...

(Waley, 127). Confucius’ spirit of humility in these passages is shared by the Daoist thinkers Laozi and Zhuangzi, whose texts posed the greatest challenge to Confucian thought. But while Confucian ...