5:00

德充符

The mark of full powers

德充符 déchōngfú

I have been translating 德 dé as "powers." 

充 chōng means to fill or complete.

A 符 fú originally referred to a piece of jade or bamboo broken in half to act as a tally. The notion that the half you hold isn't the whole but merely an indicator to identify the missing piece may fit with the notion that Zhuangzi's images are often incomplete, gesturing toward something he cannot completely articulate or illustrate.

As mentioned before, titles of the Inner Chapters typically parse (1, 2) 3; so, in this case, something like "full power's tally."

Show comments