Reconciling with the source: de in the daodejing De is a key concept in Chinese philosophy. However, de is also a concept that scholars have found particularly difficult to translate its meaning. The most prevalent translation is also the most distant interpretation from de in its original context, the daodejing. Victor Mair explains the difficulty of accurately translating de, “is evident from the astonishing sweep of thoughtful renderings of its meaning: power, action, life, inner potency, indar