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

Section 3: Totems and Clans—The Ancient Roots of "Classifying Lineages and Distinguishing Things"

The "Classifying Lineages" (lèi zú) mentioned in the Daxiangzhuan might have a more specific meaning in the ancient context.

In ancient clan society, each clan had its own totem—an animal, plant, or natural phenomenon that they believed they were specially related to. Different totems identified different clans, allowing people to distinguish "my clan" from "other clans."

"Classifying lineages" (lèi zú)—categorizing according to lineage—the original practice might have been distinguishing different clans based on their totems. And "distinguishing things" (biàn wù) might relate to the ancient categorization of the natural world by early peoples: which animals could be hunted, which plants could be eaten, where one could live—the accumulation and transmission of this knowledge was the most fundamental "distinguishing of things."

Within the framework of the tribal alliance, different clans maintained their distinctiveness (each with its own totem and customs), but they united to face challenges from nature together—this is the unification of "classifying lineages and distinguishing things" with the Way of Tóng Rén.

The Discourses of the States (Chǔ Yǔ II) records the words of Guan Shefu:

"In antiquity, the spirits of the people and the spirits of Heaven did not mix... When the refinement and sincerity of the people did not waver or turn aside, and they were able to maintain sincerity and correctness in their hearts, their wisdom could align with the meaning of those above and below; their sagehood could illuminate the distant and spread widely; their brightness could illuminate clearly; their hearing could pierce through. If they were like this, the bright spirits would descend upon them; if male, they were called xi (shaman); if female, they were called wu (sorceress)." (古者民神不杂。...其圣能光远宣朗，其明能光照之，其聪能听彻之。如是则明神降之，在男曰觋，在女曰巫。)

In ancient times, there were clear divisions of labor and means of communication between the people and the spirits. "The bright spirits descended"—and those capable of receiving the descent of spirits must possess qualities like "illuminating the distant and spreading widely" and "clear illumination." The terms "light," "brightness," and "illumination" all closely relate to the symbol of Li (Fire, Brightness).

The Witch (xi) and Sorceress (wu) served as intermediaries between humanity and the spirits, much like Six Two in the Tóng Rén hexagram—through the virtue of bright centrality, they communicated between above (Heaven/Spirits) and below (Earth/People), causing the entire group to unite spiritually.