it is convenient, first of all, to dispose of two concepts which were already current in Confucius’ time, viz., the Way (tao) and virtue (te). The importance Confucius attached to the Way can be seen from his remark, ‘He has not lived in vain who dies the day he is told about the Way’ (IV.8). Used in this sense, the Way seems to cover the sum total of truths about the universe and man, and not only the individual but also the state is said either to possess or not to possess the Way.
