Foundations
Understand philosophical and religious contexts before Dao and De.
2 articles
DA-002
Dao and De in the Laozi: Reading Chapters 1, 21, 25, 38 and 51
Dao and De read through five chapters: a chapter map, the passages on a Dao with no known name, De as what each thing receives, and the ladder of chapter 38, with text, tradition and modern borrowing kept apart.
DA-001Daoist Thought and Religious Daoism: Sorting the Books, the Name and the Religion
A three-column comparison separates the Laozi and Zhuangzi (two books), the label "Daojia" (a Han classification) and the religion "Daojiao"; Sima Tan’s essay and a Zhuangzi chapter show where the name comes from.