 As shown below, neither has Daoism evolved exclusively on the basis of this work, nor does evidence exist of a historical continuity between Laozi and the Daode jing, on the one hand, and the different forms in which Daoism has developed, on the other. Equally significant, however, is the fact that, in a traditional doctrine such as Daoism, history in the ordinary sense of the term can be altered at will to frame a “sacred history” of the teaching. The main point is establishing and exhibiting a bond between an integral exposition of the doctrine—which Daoists find in the Daode jing—and the particular teachings and practices of the individual schools or lineages. To give a few examples, this can be done by asserting that a particular “Way” (dao) derives from a revelation by Laozi, either in his human or in his divine aspect; or by placing Laozi at the origins of (or within) a “pre-historical” line of transmission; or simply by using, in textual sources, key sentences or terms from the Daode jing. In these and several other ways, Laozi and the Daode jing are, for the Daoists, one of the main vehicles used to declare their identity as Daoists.