Tao Te Ching, which is the major source of Taoism, was composed no earlier than the 6th and no later than the 4th century BC. According to legend, its writer was Lao Tzu, a high official of the Chinese empire, who left his work and his country in dismay, fed up with the charade of government. He is said to have departed riding on a water buffalo. A border guard, impressed by his wisdom, pleaded him to write down his thoughts before leaving China. So he did. Then he crossed the border, never to be seen again.
Thirty spokes unite in one nave, and because of the part where nothing exists we have the use of a carriage wheel. Clay is moulded into vessels, and because of the space where nothing exists we are able to use them as vessels. Doors and windows are cut out in the walls of a house, and because they are empty spaces, we are able to use them. Therefore, on the one hand we have the benefit of existence, and on the other, we make use of non-existence . . . and again: Be humble, and you will remain entire. Be bent, and you will remain straight. Be vacant, and you will remain full. Be worn, and you will remain new. He who has little will receive. He who has much will be embarrassed. Therefore the sage keeps to (the) One and becomes the standard for the world. He does not display himself; therefore he shines. He does not approve himself; therefore he is noted. He does not praise himself; therefore he has merit. He does not glory in himself; therefore he excels. And because he does not compete; therefore no one in the world can compete with him. . . (Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching xi and xxii; trsl. Ch’u Ta-Kao, London, 1953, p. 23 and p. 34)
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