Virtue Enables Universal Fulfillment | Generated by AI
Question: How to understand the phrase “德者，人之所得，使万物各得其所欲”?
Answer:
This sentence comes from the Primitive Chapter (原始章) of the ancient Chinese text Sù Shū (素书), traditionally attributed to Huang Shigong (黄石公) and associated with strategies for self-cultivation, leadership, and governance.
Literal Breakdown
- 德者 — “Virtue/De” (in the classical sense, not just modern “morality”)
- 人之所得 — “that which a person obtains / gets”
- 使万物各得其所欲 — “causes the ten thousand things (all creatures / everything in the world) to each obtain what they desire / want”
So a direct translation is:
“Virtue is what a person obtains, causing all things to each attain what they desire.”
Core Meaning — “De” = “De” (得，得之所得)
In this context, 德 (De) is deliberately explained through a pun/play on the word 得 (dé), meaning “to obtain” or “to get”.
- De is not merely personal moral character or kindness.
- De is the state or quality that allows real obtaining / fulfillment — both for the individual and for everything else.
The highest form of virtue is the ability to create conditions where everyone and everything can fulfill its natural desires / potential — without force, without deprivation.
Key Interpretations from Traditional Commentaries
-
Desire + Fulfillment = True Virtue
“Having desire is called ‘want’ (欲). If one desires but does not obtain, that is not the perfection of virtue.”
→ If desires are frustrated, there is no real virtue. True virtue satisfies legitimate, natural wants. - Comparison to Tools
- Seek from a carpenter’s square and compass → you only get squares and circles
- Seek from a scale → you only get weight measurements
- Seek from virtue/De → there is no desire that cannot be fulfilled
→ Virtue is the ultimate “tool” or principle that enables all other fulfillments.
- Scope — from self to universe
- Close at hand: one’s own body and life
- Far-reaching: ruler and subject, father and son, insects, birds, grass, trees — each achieves its proper role and nature
- Large things become great, small things become complete
- Connection to Confucian Ideal
Many commentators link this directly to Confucius’ famous description of the ideal society in the “Li Yun” chapter of the Book of Rites:
“The elderly have a peaceful end, the able-bodied have employment, the young have growth, widows, orphans, the childless, and the disabled all have support.”
Practical and Leadership Insight
- A true leader / sage does not hoard or monopolize benefits.
- Instead, he creates a system (following the Dao) where as many people/things as possible get what they naturally need and aspire to.
- This is why “virtue attracts” — people follow someone under whom they can flourish.
- Conversely, selfish or short-sighted pursuit of personal gain usually leads to nothing lasting.
Summary — One-Sentence Understanding
“Virtue (De) is the art and power of enabling real fulfillment — first for oneself through alignment with the Dao, and then for all things so that each can naturally realize its own proper desires and potential.”
This is one of the most profound definitions of “virtue” in all of Chinese philosophy — far beyond mere ethics, it is almost a cosmological principle of maximum harmonious realization.
References:
- 《素书》原文及注释 - sushu.5000yan.com
- 《素书》维基百科
- Various traditional commentaries quoted in modern Chinese discussions of Sù Shū (e.g., interpretations linking to Confucian ideals and Laozi’s concept of De)