Besides the symbol distributions, it is interesting to note that of the six chapters in which the majority of the sources are anti-Confucian, all but chapter 33 are Late (and it is Post-Guodian) – thus none of the Early chapters are anti-Confucian. Also, the anti-military chapters (30, 31) are Early, while the chapters offering military advice (68, 69) are Post-Guodian. Finally, “living for the substance” is a good thing in chapter 38 (Late), but a bad thing in chapters 50 and 75 (both Post-Guodian).
Early chapters are more concerned with heaven and earth, images of the feminine and the child, the concepts of “without-name” and “no danger”, and are the only chapters that try to describe Dao (1, 4, 14, 21, 25, 32, 34, 35), while they have little to do with the sage (only twice using “thus the sage” in 30 chapters), governing the nation, easy vs. difficult, and never mention the concept of “not striving”.
Late chapters have more Confucian terms, advice on how to rule, and talk about non-interference, but at the same time are the only ones that talk about possessing or “taking hold of” the world or the nation.
Post-Guodian chapters also offer some advice on how to rule, tend to deal with hard/soft/weak/strong, are the only chapters that offer military advice, and talk a lot about death, but rarely mention Dao or De, and never mention the feminine, the child, emptiness, or the uncarved block.
The rest of the appendix collects all the chapters of each layer together, so the reader can see their common themes. The final section is called “What Would the Sage Do?”, and collects every reference to the Sage from the entire document.
References
A Stratification of Lao Tzu, by John J. Emerson; The Journal of Chinese Religions, #23, pp. 1-28; 1995
Lao Tzu Stratified, II: A Sketch, by John J. Emerson; http://www.idiocentrism.com/china.strata3.htm; 2003