Let's first look at the original meaning of the word "de". Its original intention is: to see the direction of the road clearly, not to be confused, and to go straight along the avenue wholeheartedly. Xu Shen's Shuo Wen Jie Zi extended it to the sublimation of people's ideological realm because of goodness.
Next, let's understand the philosophical meaning of "morality", which can be understood with the help of Tao Te Ching. There are 44 references to "virtue" in Tao Te Ching, and its philosophical meanings mainly include: First, "virtue" is the manifestation of "Tao". It is believed that "Tao" produces everything, "virtue" is to standardize and maintain its development, "everything respects virtue from Tao", and everything is the expression of respecting virtue according to the law of Tao. Therefore, it can be said that virtue is the expression of Tao. Secondly, "virtue" expresses the idea of inaction. According to Tao Te Ching, a noble man will not preach his virtue, because he has never left Germany. Low morality is good at expressing morality, but there is no morality in fact. Noble people conform to nature without imposing their own will, while low people conform to nature on the surface for their own will. Third, emphasize Xiu De. Tao Te Ching holds that only newborn babies can best embody virtue. If he can practice to return to nature, then virtue will not leave.
Huangdi Neijing talks about "virtue" in many places from the perspective of health preservation, which mainly has the following meanings:
First, emphasis is the embodiment of Tao. For example, at the beginning of Huangdi Neijing, it is said that "those who know the past ... so they can be 100 years old every year, but those who don't change their behavior are not dangerous." Because ancient people knew Tao, they could keep healthy by following its operating rules. Therefore, they can live for a hundred years without losing their actions. These are all the effects of "following the Tao", which is finally reflected in the effect of "practicing without danger". Therefore, the performance of "virtue" is also the result of fully understanding and mastering the Tao. There are many such expositions in Huangdi Neijing, such as Su Wen. On ancient naivety, "In the Middle Ages, there were perfect people and virtuous people." "Su Wen's Theory of Soup Fermented Grains" said: "Since ancient times, people who made soup fermented grains thought it was for their ears. When an ancient husband made soup, he served it well. Medieval morality declined slightly, and when evil spirits arrived, they were completely convinced. " The "morality" mentioned here is not morality in moral sense, but morality in philosophical sense.
Second, for heaven, "virtue" is a manifestation of qi. There are several forms of natural climate change, such as morality, culture, politics, order, disaster and change. For example, there is a great theory that "the wind is born in the east, and the wind is born in wood, and the morality is harmonious, the politics is smooth, the wind is rising, and the disaster is scattered ...". That is to say, the virtue of things like "East, Wind and Wood" is harmonious, which can also be understood as the nature of "East, Wind and Wood". Then, politics is characteristic, order is superficial, change is abnormal, and disaster is bad. If everything keeps its own nature-virtue, it is the most peaceful. If people live in this peaceful five internal organs, they will generally not get sick. However, the five internal organs are constantly changing. If there are too many or too few changes, it is an external factor for people to get sick.
Third, for people, "virtue" is the expression of people's inner quality. Such as "soul pivot". The God said, "Heaven is in me, and virtue is also …" The ancients believed that virtue is the embodiment of the spirit of heaven in human beings. For example, the eyes are the enlightenment of the heart. If a person can keep virtue, then qi is in harmony with eyes. The five internal organs (liver, heart, spleen, lung and kidney) correspond to the five elements (wood, fire, earth, gold and water). If you want your five internal organs to be in a state of "virtue" (liver virtue: soft and stretching, heart virtue bright and obvious, spleen virtue full and plump, lung virtue clean and bright, kidney virtue quiet and serene), the human body will be in a very healthy state. On the other hand, being grumpy and angry goes against the virtue of the liver, being narrow-minded and haggling over every ounce goes against the virtue of the heart, and so on.
Laozi said: "Changde never leaves, and it belongs to the baby." For health preservation, if people can always maintain the "virtue" of internal organs, it will delay aging, and if sub-health phenomenon occurs, it may also be reversed and restored to health.