HONG KONG, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The "bamboo slip" Tao Te Ching, which could be dated prior to 278 BC, started exhibition here on Thursday together with over 300 different editions and versions of this Chinese philosophical classic.

    It is the largest scale of Tao Te Ching exhibition in the world, vice chairman of the China Religious Culture Communication Association Jiang Jianyong said at the opening ceremony.

    The exhibits include all kinds of editions, exegetical commentaries, modern Chinese language editions (about 180 kinds), and over 26 foreign language translations (about 250 kinds) of TaoTe Ching, according to the association.

    The exhibition also presents several cultural relics related to Tao Te Ching, including 10 national first-class cultural relics.

    The "bamboo slip" Tao Te Ching, widely accepted as the earliest version of the classic so far, was discovered in a tomb in Hubei province in 1993. Archaeologists determined that the three bundles of slips could be dated back to the Warring States Period (403 BC -221 BC) and amount to one third of today's edition. This exhibition will present five pieces from the second bundle of slips.

    Other precious exhibits are silk manuscripts of Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AC) discovered in Mawangdui tomb in Hunan province in 1973 and different editions of Dunhuang manuscripts discovered in Mogao Grottoes.

    The exhibition will last till May 9, then go on its show at National Library in Beijing.

    Translated into over 30 languages and reprinted numerous times throughout its two thousand years history, Tao Te Ching is one of the most studied and well-known Chinese philosophical classics and considered one of the most important texts in the human intellectual heritage. It analyzes the relations between human and nature, and reveals the truth of harmony in life.