SOURCE: Introduction to Wisdom of the East, Taoist Teachings: From the Book of Lieh Tzu, translated by Lionel Giles, John Murray, 1912, pp. 9-16.

In the essay that follows, Giles locates the book of Lieh Tzu in the more general context of Taoist philosophy, including the thought of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu.

The history of Taoist philosophy may be conveniently divided into three stages: the primitive stage, the stage of development, and the stage of degeneration. The first of these stages is only known to us through the medium of a single semi-historical figure, the philosopher Lao Tzŭ, whose birth is traditionally assigned to the year 604 B.C. Some would place the beginnings of Taoism much earlier than this, and consequently regard Lao Tzŭ rather as an expounder than as the actual founder of the system; just as Confucianism—that is, a moral code based on filial piety...