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The power acquired by the Taoist is de, the efficacy of the Tao in the human experience, which is translated as “virtue.” Laozi viewed it, however, as different from Confucian virtue: The “superior virtue” of Taoism is a latent power that never lays claim to its achievements; it is the “mysterious power” (xuande) of Tao present in the heart of the sage—“persons of superior virtue never act (wuwei), and yet there is nothing they leave undone.” Wuwei is neither an ideal of absolute inaction nor a mere “not-overdoing.” It is actions so well in accordance with things that their authors ...(100 of 15652 words)