Editing Tao (section)

===''De''===
{{Main|De (Chinese)}}

''De'' ({{zhi|c=德|l=power', 'virtue', 'integrity}}) is the term generally used to refer to proper adherence to the Tao. ''De'' is the active living or cultivation of the way.{{sfnp|Maspero|1981|p=32}} Particular things (things with names) that manifest from the Tao have their own inner nature that they follow in accordance with the Tao, and the following of this inner nature is ''De''. ''Wu wei'', or 'naturalness', is contingent on understanding and conforming to this inner nature, which is interpreted variously from a personal, individual nature to a more generalized notion of human nature within the greater Universe.{{sfnp|Bodde|Fung|1997|pp=99–101}}

Historically, the concept of De differed significantly between Taoists and Confucianists. Confucianism was largely a moral system emphasizing the values of humaneness, righteousness, and filial duty, and so conceived De in terms of obedience to rigorously defined and codified social rules. Taoists took a broader, more naturalistic, more metaphysical view on the relationship between humankind and the Universe and considered social rules to be at best a derivative reflection of the natural and spontaneous interactions between people and at worst calcified structure that inhibited naturalness and created conflict. This led to some philosophical and political conflicts between Taoists and Confucians. Several sections of the works attributed to [[Zhuang Zhou]] are dedicated to critiques of the failures of Confucianism.