Dai De also known as Da Dai, , birth and death unknown, was a Confucian scholar of the Former Han Dynasty. He was active during the reign of Emperor Yuan of Han

Emperor Yuan of Han

Emperor Yuan of Han was an emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty. He reigned from 48 BC to 33 BC. Emperor Yuan was remembered for the promotion of Confucianism as the official creed of Chinese government. He appointed Confucius adherents to important government posts...

 (48–33 BC).

He was the son of Dai Ren (戴仁) and the elder brother of Dai Sheng

Dai Sheng

Dai Sheng , also known as Xiao Dai, , birth and death unknown, was the Scholar of Rituals to Emperor Xuan of the Former Han Dynasty. He was the son of Dai Ren and the younger brother of Dai De...

. He was a native of Liang (now Shangqiu

Shangqiu

Shangqiu is a city in eastern Henan province, Central China. It borders Kaifeng to the northwest, Zhoukou to the southwest, and the provinces of Shandong and Anhui to the northeast and southeast respectively. An ancient city with a rich history, Shangqiu was also the first capital of the Shang...

, Henan

Henan

Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...

) and a founder of the Former Han Dynasty Jinwen Jingxue (今文经学, School of Confucianism).

He helped compile the Book of Rites (礼记), editing the 214 books that made it up in the 1st century AD down to 85. His brother Dai Sheng further reduced it to 46, to which were added three books, giving the 49 that have come down to us today. Dai De's version of the Rites is known as 大戴礼记.