information:extraction, information:classification, linguistic:translation
Before Zhuangzi

Linguistic studies of the Tao Te Ching ' s vocabulary and rime scheme point to a date of composition after the early Classic of Poetry (or Book of Songs), but before the Zhuangzi, and would generally be taken as preceding the Zhuangzi. This is the traditional "before Zhuangzi" theory. Although the Book of Songs is a diverse work, they do not bear any especial resemblance. Upholding the traditional early dating of Sima Qian, Hong Kong professor Liu Xiaogan argued that the Tao Te Ching's poetic structure resembles the Book of Songs more than the later, Warring States period Songs of Chu.