"Embracing the One" ( baoyi ) and "holding to the One" ( zhiyi ) are phrases that appear in different versions of the Daodejing . This essay argues that, in a specific philosophical context, these two phrases represent competing philosophical attitudes that stem from opposing cosmological visions. The recently unearthed "Great One Produces the Waters" ( Taiyishengshui ) assists in the reconstruction of this philosophical context, as does a re-reading of the "One" in the famous generative sequence of chapter 42 of the Daodejing . Ultimately, it is argued, the phrase "embracing the One" represents an attitude that is quintessentially "Daoist" in nature, while "holding to the One" signifies the adoption of the Daodejing by competing philosophical interests.