The Tao Te Ching or The Book of the Way and its Virtue is one of the most important books in Chinese philosophy and religion. The book is obviously the basis for the system or philosophy known as Taoism but it is also important to the development of Buddhism is China.
Tradition states the book was written around 600 BCE by a sage named Lao Tzu, which literally means "Old Master,” or Laozi who was a record-keeper in the Emperor's Court of the Zhou Dynasty. However it seems likely that the book was complied much later. Some scholars indicate some of the maxims in the book point to a reaction against the ideas of Confucius, making the compilation more likely to have been completed somewhere nearer 400BCE.
Laozi is mentioned in scrolls dating back to 400 BCE, but the details of his life were not recorded until about 100 BCE. Different sections of the Tao have been found engraved on stone tablets and bamboo strips dated to 300 BCE. In 1973, Chinese "silk scrolls" dated to 200 BCE were discovered revealing text very similar to the modern version of the Tao Te Ching. 
As with Confucian texts, it seems likely that the Tao is a collection of sayings complied over a period of time by a small number of editors.

The Tao Te Ching

The Tao Te Ching is the second most translated book in history, behind only the Christian Bible. Translation has proved difficult, and even Chinese speakers have difficulty understanding some of the concepts.
Dào is usually translated into English as "the way ahead," "the path ahead," or simply "the Way,” which has a special meaning within the context of Taoism, where it implies the essential, unnamable process of the universe. Dé means "virtue" or "righteousness,” while Jing simply means scripture.
The Tao Te Ching is divided into two sections (Tao, containing chapters 1–37 and Te, chapters 38–81). Each chapter is short and poetic. As with most other ancient Chinese philosophers, Laozi often explains his ideas by way of paradox, analogy, repetition, symmetry, and rhyme.
Many believe that the Tao Te Ching contains universal truths including practical wisdom for the common man, advice for kings and even medicinal recipes. It covers individual spirituality, inter-personal dynamics and politics.
Throughout the text, concepts repeat. The “Way" or the “Tao” can be interpreted as the “Way of Nature.” The Tao is also the driving energy in the world and the inherent order or property of the universe."
 The book also describes the concept of Wei wuwei, or "action without action." Sometimes no action is the best action. Laozi believed that violence should be avoided as much as possible, and that military victory should be an occasion for mourning rather than celebration.

An example of a chapter is as follows.

Knowing others is wisdom;
Knowing the self is enlightenment.
Mastering others requires force;
Mastering the self requires strength;

He who knows he has enough is rich.
Perseverance is a sign of will power.
He who stays where he is endures.
To die but not to perish is to be eternally present.

The Tao Te Ching does not define what the Tao is, but implies it is all being, before and beyond all distinctions between different forms or essences of things. Everything comes from the Tao and returns to the Tao. Proper characteristics can never be truly attributed to the Tao, as Tao represents the highest form of truth.
The book repeatedly uses images of water — fluidity and softness — to show the essence of Tao. It is often stated that to following Taoism is like rafting on a river. You have some control, but you must accept you have to travel with the water.
Water is also a feminine trait in Chinese, suggesting that Taoism is a reaction to the male values of clarity, stability, positive action, and domination of nature often found in Confucianism.