From Warring States Disorder to the Daoist Tradition

Explain how warfare, political fragmentation, and social change during the Eastern Zhou period encouraged new answers to the question of how to live.

Compare an early Daoist response with a Confucian response to one shared problem, such as social disorder or effective leadership.

Distinguish the contributions of the Dao De Jing and the Zhuangzi by interpreting one characteristic image or story from each text.

Place the early Daoist texts and the later emergence of organized Daoist movements on a simple timeline, distinguishing them without treating philosophical and religious Daoism as unrelated traditions.