  Although in this sense the Laozi may be regarded as a composite work, the product of many hands over a long period of time, it should not be assumed that the sayings that now inhabit the Laozi were put together at random. More likely, the final product reflects a process of intellectual distillation on the part of the compilers, who arranged and/or altered the material at their disposal (see also LaFargue 1992 and Mair 1990 on the composition of the Laozi).