Pu, the uncarved block or unhewn wood, is the Daodejing’s image for original simplicity, before names, distinctions and desires carve it into useful but limited things. The sage returns to the uncarved block, as the infant and the valley are images of the same return.
Uncarved block
Pu: the simplicity of the Dao and of the sage, like wood before it is cut into vessels.
Also: pu