The Dào Dé Jīng (Chinese: 道德 經): Tao Te Ching, also called Tao Te King, whose authorship is attributed to Laozi (Lao Tzu, also transliterated as Lao Tzu, ‘Old Master’), is a classic Chinese text. Its name comes from the words with which each of its two parts begins: 道 give 'the way', the first in Chapter 1, and 德 give 'virtue', or 'power', the first in Chapter 38, with the added 經 jīng, 'classic book'. According to tradition, it was written around the 6th century BC. C. by the wise Laozi, an archivist of the court of the Zhou dynasty, by whose name the text is known in China. The true authorship and date of composition or compilation of the book is still under debate. (Wikipedia)