# Ho - shang Kung — Tao Te Ching character guide

> Ho - shang Kung in Tao Te Ching by Laozi.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0005-tao-te-ching

## Who they are

The old man of the riverbank whose eighty-one chapter division gave the Tao Te Ching the shape readers have followed for two thousand years.

## Relationships

### [Laozi](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tao_te_ching_se/characters/laozi)

_professional_

Ho-shang Kung is a legendary commentator who wrote an influential early commentary on the Tao Te Ching, linking it to Daoist cultivation.

### [Laozi](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tao_te_ching_se/characters/laozi)

_professional_

Ho-shang Kung is a legendary commentator who wrote an influential early commentary on the Tao Te Ching, linking it to Daoist cultivation.

## In the story

### [The Texts of the Tao Te Ching and Chuang-Tzŭ Shu, as Regards Their Authenticity and Genuineness, and the Arrangement of Them](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tao_te_ching_se/chapters/the-texts-of-the-tao-te-ching-and-chuang-tz-shu-as-regards-their-authenticity-and-genuineness-and-the-arrangement-of-them)

Traditional commentator attributed with the division of the Tao Te Ching into eighty-one chapters.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tao_te_ching_se/chapters/endnotes)

His text is mentioned as the basis for some ancient copies; his commentary on chapter 74 is noted as inexplicable.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tao_te_ching_se/characters/ho_shang_kung
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tao_te_ching_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tao_te_ching_se/characters