Lao Zi and the TAO-TE CHING

Six centuries ago before the Christian era, Lao Zi wrote the Tao-te Ching book that records Taoist teachings starting from the Yellow Emperor (2697 - 2599 B.C.). The Tao-te Ching is the supreme sacred book of Taoism and it is also the beginning of Chinese traditional philosophy. The Tao-te Ching contains around 5000 words and is the origin of all books written until now and has been the second most published book in the world after the Bible. In the Tao-te Ching, Lao Zi states that the Tao gave origin to the Universe (Chapter 1); also: "I do not know who created the Tao but I know that he is before God" (Chapter 4).

For this reason, Taoism is not a religion that holds God as the Supreme Being. We can compare Taoism with monotheism. The Tao has a double nature: the origin of everything rational and the origin of divine nature.