[diamondage]

As far as i understand, the dao de ching is in fact more of a confucian text. Its original focus was 'how to rule'. Albeit a great intro to thought of that time and place. It may be my perverse nature, but religions that actively try and hide their knowledge make me think they have something worth researching (as opposed to ones that knock on the door and try to convert me!). Its hard to find good stuff online. Here is a rare "interview with a daoist":

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZG_E1BDb_XFmvq-dj6ZK_vFWYJz...

The other component that seems uniquely daoist is the fundamental goal of long life/immortality (as opposed to a buddhist nirvana) hence the emphasis on starting with the body and the overlap with chinese internal arts taichi, hsing i and bagua.

Around the 15th c there was a fundamental shift in physical training theory to the principles of the yi jin jing ("changing the muscles into the quality of tendons theory")

This is a sophisticated and fundamentally different approach to the body than most western training systems.

Here's a rare clear explanation: https://youtu.be/ZuA484T1CHM