Te in the Tao Te Ching

The West has in the main captured the essence of Tao but invariably disagree on what is meant by Te because of various translations of the Tao Te Ching said to number more than a hundred with every translator claiming he or she is right. And that those who differ, amongst other reasons given, have been influenced by their own religious beliefs or influenced by renowned translators such as James Legge or Arthur Waley.The post below was posted in a forum last year to support my views on the meaning of Te.

Let us not be influenced by any translator of Tao Te Ching (TTC) for the time being and try to picture the scenario when it was said to be written. During a time in between what is better known as Spring and Autumn and the Warring States eras where the Zuhou were fighting each other for hegemony over the other states since the Zhou capital in the West was razed by the barbarians in 771 BC. And the Zhou emperor whose capital has been relocated in the East had no longer any power over these states except to receive their annual ceremonial tributes of drinking straws in exchange for a piece of the ceremonial meat.
According to the Records of the Historian (Sima Chien) Laozi indeed existed and was known as Li Erh who held a post of librarian in the Zhou Court. As a librarian he would have access to a lot of Ancient books and classics especially that of Zhou’s. Let us supposed that he had the same access to such knowledge if not more than that available to Confucius, and then Laozi may have read the same classics as Confucius, even though such classics were later known as the Confucian Classics. These Classics are the Book of History, Book of Changes, Book of Odes (Songs), Spring and Autumn Annals and the Book of Rites.
To those familiar with the Book of History and on the assumption that the chapters within are authentic, one can find an Ancient immortal (known as Kwang Chenzi) teaching Huangdi (Yellow Emperor) how to attain the Tao.
In the Book of Zhou, it was recorded that King Cheng (a grandson of King Wen) admonished his ministers with the following:

“Great heaven has no partial affections; it helps only the virtuous. The people’s hearts have no unchanging attachments, they cherish only the kind. Acts of goodness are different, but they contribute in common to good order. Acts of evil are no different, but they contribute in common to disorder. Be cautious.”

(Compare Chapter 79 of TTC: In the way of Heaven, there is no partiality of love; it is always on the side of the good man.)

In the Zhouyi (Book of Changes of the Zhou) the first two hexagrams are Heaven and Earth and it teaches the Junzi (the superior man) proper conduct in the way of life and how to master his/her fate. It also says how a sage will act if you do meet one.
The Spring and Autumn Annals records the good and bad deeds of various Zuhou (dukes who later called themselves kings) and their ministers.

Under this scenario and on the request of Guan Yinzi, Laozi is said to have written the TTC.

Let us also examine what the later eminent Tao philosophers and accomplished Taoists (among them acknowledged immortals) said about cultivation of essence (inside) and cultivation of bodily life (outside).

Guan Yinzi said, “A man should follow the great Tao, keep pure and void, pacify his mind, correct his conduct, and be rid of the rein of desires.”

Chang Taoling studied the five Confucian Classics and said to be a descendant of Chang Liang (a famous Taoist adviser of Liu Pang the first Han emperor). Ge Xuan and Ge Hong also studied the five classics. (Many immortals after them also studied the same classics.)

Ge Hong or Ko Hong had written a lot of books including theories and techniques on how to achieve immortality. (Currently there are a few English translations of his collections and the studies on the lives of immortals.) He advocated that those who seek immortality must also cultivate virtues (Te) and not just practising the techniques.

Chen Tuan (Five Dynasties and Song) was the first who integrated the study of the three doctrines (Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism) to attain the Tao and to become an immortal. His friend, Lu Dongpin (one of the eight immortals) and Zhong Liquan (another of the eight immortals) and their student Wang Chongyang (founder of the Complete Reality Religion/ Quanzhen) also advocated the study of the three doctrines.

To me, the reason for this integration is because Chan Buddhism concentrates on the cultivation of essence that is through meditation while Taoism and Confucianism concentrate on the cultivation of bodily life that is virtues and proper conduct of the Junzi respectively. Based on this reason, the ‘later’ immortals seemingly follow the thoughts of Guan Yinzi and Ge Hong on the TTC.

In line with these eminent Tao philosophers and accomplished Taoists’ thoughts, Te would mean virtue(s). When there is Tao there is Te.

BTW those who follow Arthur Waley’s translation of TTC as The Way and Its Power (TWIP) need to read his explanation on Te in Appendix IV in the Book of Songs where he said, “In the first draft of my translation I left the word untranslated. But Te is not easy to acclimatize in English, and in the end I translated it power (compare my book TWIP), inner power (for it excludes physical strength); but sometimes virtue, in contexts where this is not misleading.