Heaven Fire Tongren: Confucian-Daoist Dialogue and the Investigation of Ancient Spiritual Origins from a Pre-Qin Perspective
This article deeply examines the *Tian Huo Tong Ren* hexagram from the *I Ching*, contextualizing it within Pre-Qin Confucian and Daoist thought and ancient culture to sequentially analyze the implications of its trigrams, hexagram statement, and line statements. By differentiating between 'Sameness' (Tong) and 'Harmony' (He) and integrating the structural logic of the *Xu Gua Zhuan*, it explores the pivotal role of the *Tong Ren* hexagram in the transition from stagnation to prosperity, revealing the primordial wisdom of seeking Great Consensus amidst difference.
Section 1: "Resonating, and Thus Connecting the Causes of All Under Heaven"
The Xi Ci Zhuan (Part I) states:
"The Yijing is without thought, without action; it is still and unmoving, yet by resonating, it connects all the causes under Heaven. If not the ultimate spirit under Heaven, who can participate in this$11" (《易》，无思也，无为也，寂然不动，感而遂通天下之故。非天下之至神，其孰能与于此？)
Although this passage is a general commentary on the entire Book of Changes, it has a particularly close resonance with the Tóng Rén hexagram.
"Resonating, and thus connecting the causes of all under Heaven" (gǎn ér suì tōng tiān xià zhī gù)—by resonating, one can connect all the principles and affairs under Heaven. This is strikingly similar to the Tuanzhuan's "Only the noble man can fully connect the will of all under Heaven."
"Connecting the causes of all under Heaven" and "connecting the will of all under Heaven"—the former is epistemological (understanding the principles of all under Heaven), and the latter is ethical (unifying the aspirations of all under Heaven). The commonality between them is the character "connect" (tōng)—breaking through, connecting through, making accessible.
And what is the key to achieving this "connection"$12 It is "resonance" (gǎn)—in a state of being "without thought, without action, still and unmoving," at the appropriate time, one "resonates" (gǎn)—producing a connection with the external world—and then one can "connect all the causes under Heaven."
This process is consistent with the cultivation method in the Tóng Rén hexagram: not eagerly or instrumentally pursuing "Tóng Rén" (which becomes Nine Three’s "hiding armed men in the brush"), but first cultivating one's own quality of bright centrality (the brightness of Li), and then connecting with others naturally through resonance.