The Tao Te Ching (Wade), Daodejing (pinyin), or Classic of the Way and Its Virtue or Power (道德經)—also known as the the Laozi (老子), the Sutra of the Way and Its Virtue or Power (道德真經, Daode Zhenjing), or the 5000-Character Classic (五千文, Wuqian Wen) is a Chinese classic text traditionally ascribed to a 6th-century sage named Laozi or the "Old Master". The text's true authorship and date of composition or compilation are still debated, although the oldest excavated text dates back to the late 4th century BC.
