The nut of the guitar would be at the beginning of the tablature and the lines would represent the strings of the guitar.
The high E would be at the top of the tablature and the low E would be the bottom line on the tablature.

If you would play the strings from the low E (6th String) to the high E (1st string) – first six 0’s.
If you then play all the strings at once you get the line where all the 0’s are in a row.
If you put your fingers on the guitar at A string 2nd fret, D string 2nd fret, G string 1st fret you would be playing an E chord.

Chord Diagrams

E Chord Diagram

The E chord diagram above is also in tablature and the nut of the guitar is at the top of the chart.
When a line has a 0 on it you play the string without fingering, this is also known as an open string.

D Chord Diagram

Notice the open strings you play and the X on the top two strings, this indicates that you do not play these strings at all.
The numbers in the diagram represent which fingers you use to play this chord.