Lao-tseu (Laozi)
Follow the Way (Dao) through non-action.
Guodian Laozi (bamboo slips)
Found in 1993 in a tomb closed around 300 BC: the oldest known version. Three bundles, about two fifths of the text, in a different order, without the attacks on Confucian humaneness and righteousness of chapter 19. Evidence that the book was still taking shape. Not yet in our corpus.
Daodejing (Tao Te Ching), 81 chapters essential
Ascribed by tradition to Laozi. A single author and a 6th-century date are very doubtful: most scholars see a compilation of the 4th-3rd c. BC. We quote the received text of Wang Bi (226-249 AD). The title "Classic of the Way and Virtue" itself dates from the Han period.
Mawangdui silk manuscripts (A and B)
Two complete copies found in 1973. The "Virtue" part comes before the "Way" part, and the wording differs: for instance "constant" is written 恆 (heng), not 常 (chang). Useful to see what editors changed.
Wang Bi's commentary
The most influential commentary, written by a young philosopher who died at 23. This is not Laozi: we quote it only as an early reading.