Abstract:

This article makes use of the latest unearthed materials about the Lao Zi to prove that the original Wen Zi began to appear as early as in the first half of the third century BC. The relationship between the current version of Wen Zi and the Huai Nan Zi can be explained in terms of the model of "Twice Copies". On the one hand, the Wen Zi quoted and used the Lao Zi, and on the other hand, the text of Lao Zi changed itself more or less in its spread owing to the influence of the Wen Zi.

Key words: Wen Zi, Lao Zi, bamboo - slip version, current version