 The Tao Te Ching or Daodejing is widely considered the most influential Taoist text . According to legend , it was written by Laozi , and often the book is simply referred to as the " Laozi . " However , authorship , precise date of origin , and even unity of the text are still subject of debate , and will probably never be known with certainty . The earliest texts of the Tao Te Ching that have been excavated ( written on bamboo tablets ) date back to the late 4th century BCE . Throughout the history of religious Taoism , the Tao Te Ching has been used as a ritual text . 
