Daodejing: composition, transmission, and early commentary (6th–2nd century BCE)

1. Warring States setting shapes early Daoist texts

   Jan 1, 475 BCELabels: Warring States, Daodejing

   • SEP Laozi
   • Britannica Zhou

2. Zhuangzi tradition develops alongside Laozi materials

   Jan 1, 320 BCELabels: Zhuangzi, Laozi

   • SEP Zhuangzi
   • Philopedia

3. Late 4th-century BCE Guodian slips show early Laozi text

   Jan 1, 300 BCELabels: Guodian slips, Chu

   • Guodian Texts
   • SEP Laozi

4. Guodian bundles reflect compilation and transmission in practice

   Jan 1, 300 BCELabels: Guodian bundles, Manuscripts

   • Guodian Texts
   • UMich Record

5. Lüshi Chunqiu (239 BCE) reflects syncretic statecraft context

   Jan 1, 239 BCELabels: L shi, L Buwei

   • Britannica L shi
   • L shi Chunqiu

6. Han Feizi preserves early ‘Jie Lao’ and ‘Yu Lao’ commentary

   Jan 1, 230 BCELabels: Han Feizi, Jie Lao

   • SEP Laozi
   • Brill Hanfeizi

7. Qin–early Han transition strengthens Huang-Lao reading contexts

   Jan 1, 221 BCELabels: Qin unification, Huang-Lao

   • SEP Laozi
   • Uni Hildesheim

8. Western Han Heshang Gong commentary tradition takes recognizable form

   Jan 1, 180 BCELabels: Heshang Gong, Western Han

   • Uni Hildesheim
   • Ctext HSG

9. Mawangdui tomb (sealed 168 BCE) preserves two Laozi silk texts

   Jan 1, 168 BCELabels: Mawangdui, Laozi manuscripts

   • Hunan Museum
   • Mawangdui Texts

10. Mawangdui manuscripts show alternative ordering and early scribal practices

    Jan 1, 168 BCELabels: Mawangdui manuscripts, Scribal practice

    • Hunan Museum
    • Zenodo Study

11. Huainanzi presented (139 BCE) helps canonize Laozi-style ideas

    Jan 1, 139 BCELabels: Huainanzi, Liu An

    • Lingnan Univ
    • Huainanzi

12. Sima Qian’s Shiji (c. 85 BCE) establishes a Laozi biography tradition

    Jan 1, 85 BCELabels: Sima Qian, Shiji

    • Britannica Shiji
    • IEP Laozi