Heaven Fire Tongren: Confucian-Daoist Dialogue and the Investigation of Ancient Spiritual Origins from a Pre-Qin Perspective

Section 1: Fire Worship—The Original Experience of Human Aggregation

The lower trigram of the Tóng Rén hexagram is Li—Fire. Among all natural forces, fire has the most fundamental significance for the formation of human society.

I. Fire and Human Aggregation

Imagine the lives of ancient peoples: they gathered and hunted individually during the day, returning to their settlements at night around a central fire. The fire provided warmth, drove away wild beasts, illuminated the darkness, and cooked food. Primitive peoples sat around the fire, sharing food, recounting the day’s experiences, and telling myths—this was the most primordial experience of "aggregation."

The original image of Tóng Rén may well be such a scene: a group of people sitting around a bonfire, the firelight reflecting on every face, warming every body. Within this firelight, people sensed each other's presence and felt their belonging as a "group."

The Han Feizi (Five Parasites) records a myth about fire from ancient times:

"In the age of high antiquity, people were few and beasts many; people could not overcome birds and beasts and insects. A sage arose, who constructed nests by joining wood to avoid the multitudes of harm, and the people were pleased with him, making him king over all under Heaven, calling him Youchao-shi (Nest-Builder)." "The people ate fruits, nuts, clams, and mussels, which smelled foul and injured their stomachs, causing many illnesses. A sage arose, who drilled wood to obtain fire to transform the raw and stinking, and the people were pleased with him, making him king over all under Heaven, calling him Suiren-shi (Fire-Driller)." (韩非子·五蠹)

Suiren-shi "drilled wood to obtain fire to transform the raw and stinking"—he invented the method of obtaining fire and used it to cook food. The people were delighted ("the people were pleased with him"), and they made him king over all under Heaven. This myth reveals the core role of fire in the formation of human society: the use of fire transformed scattered individuals into an organized group—because fire needed maintenance (it could not be allowed to go out) and sharing (one fire could warm many people)—people naturally gathered around the fire. Fire is inherently a force of "aggregation."

From this perspective, the symbolic meaning of the Li trigram (Fire) in Tóng Rén is enriched—it represents not only "Brightness" and "Civilization" but also the most primordial experience of human aggregation. Heaven (Qian) is above, Fire (Li) is below—Heaven covers the earth, and Fire burns on the earth, and people sit around the fire looking up at the sky—this is the original image of "Heaven and Fire gather in accord."

II. The Symbolism of "Fire" in Pre-Qin Texts

The Book of Odes (Shi Jing, Lesser Odes of the Kingdom, Tíng Liǎo) describes the firelight in a palace:

"How is the night$13 The night is not yet ended, the light of the courtyard fire shines. The noble man is here, the sound of the luan bird is clear and resonant." (夜如何其？夜未央，庭燎之光。君子至止，鸾声将将。)

The "courtyard fire" (tíng liáo) refers to large fires lit in the courtyard (or bonfires). In the darkness, the brightness of the courtyard fire attracts the arrival of the "noble man"—is this not the image of Tóng Rén$14 Brightness (Fire) attracts those of high virtue (the noble man) to gather around it.

The Book of Documents (Pan Geng) includes words from Pan Geng during the relocation of the Yin capital:

"If it is like fire blazing across the plain, you cannot approach it casually. Can it still be extinguished$15" (若火之燎于原，不可向迩。其犹可扑灭？)

Pan Geng compares the unstoppable force to fire blazing across the plain. Fire burning in the open field—this image corresponds to "Gathering in Accord in the wilds": in the broadest space, Fire (brightness, passion, attraction) rises toward Heaven, drawing everyone to gather around it.