Dai De

Dai De (Chinese: 戴德; pinyin: Dài Dé), also known as Da Dai, (Chinese: 大戴; lit.: 'Big Dai'; more formally, "Dai the Greater"), birth and death unknown, was a Confucian scholar of the Former Han Dynasty. He was active during the reign of Emperor Yuan of Han (48–33 BC).

He was the son of Dai Ren (戴仁) and the uncle of Dai Sheng. He was a native of Liang (now Shangqiu, Henan) and a founder of the New Text Confucian (Simplified:今文经学; Traditional: 今文經學 Jinwen jingxue) exegesis of “classical texts concerned with codes of conduct” (Simplified: 今文礼学; Traditional: 今文禮學: Jinwen lixue) during the Former Han Dynasty.

He was traditionally credited with producing a substantially edited version of the Book of Rites (Li Ji) that bore his name: Dai the Greater's Book of Rites (大戴禮記 Da Dai Li Ji). It is likely, however, that Dai's prestigious name was attached to a reduced version of the Book of Rites in order to legitimate a much-revised text.[1] Traditionally, the preceding version was said to have consisted of an initial 131 essays (篇 pian), to which an additional 83 were subsequently added. Dai is said to have reduced the resulting 214 essays to 85, which his nephew, Dai Sheng, was then supposed to have further reduced too 46. 3 additional essays were added later to reach a final total of 49. There is no reliable evidence, however, to attribute these revisions to either Dai De or Dai Sheng, both of whom were, nevertheless, trained as Confucian scholars specializing in various texts concerning "codes of conduct" (禮 li). Dai's reputed influence on these related texts, which include the Rites of Zhou and the Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial, is equally uncertain.[2]

A short biography of Dai can be found in the RoutledgeCurzon Encyclopedia of Confucianism (Routledge, 2003).

References

Jeffrey K. Riegel, ”Ta Tai Li chii 大戴禮記” in Michael Lowe, ed., Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide (Berkeley CA: The Society for the Study of Early China and the Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley, 1993), pp. 456-59.
Jeffrey K. Riegel, “Li chi 禮記,” in Michael Lowe, ed., Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide (Berkeley CA: The Society for the Study of Early China and the Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley, 1993), pp. 293-97; Michael Lowe, “Dai De,” in Xinzhong Yao, edl, RoutledgeCurzon Encyclopedia of Confucianism (New York: Routledge, 2003).

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[1] Jeffrey K. Riegel, ”Ta Tai Li chii 大戴禮記” in Michael Lowe, ed., Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide (Berkeley CA: The Society for the Study of Early China and the Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley, 1993), pp. 456-59.

[2] Jeffrey K. Riegel, “Li chi 禮記,” in Michael Lowe, ed., Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide (Berkeley CA: The Society for the Study of Early China and the Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley, 1993), pp. 293-97; Michael Lowe, “Dai De,” in Xinzhong Yao, edl, RoutledgeCurzon Encyclopedia of Confucianism (New York: Routledge, 2003).