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

Section 4: The Tóng Rén Hexagram Echoing the Confucian Ideal of "Great Accord"

In the introduction, we quoted the description of "Great Accord" (Dà Tóng) from the Book of Rites (Lǐ Jì, Rites of Passage, Rites of Passage). Let us now conduct a more in-depth comparative analysis.

The Lǐ Jì states:

"When the Great Way prevails, the world is held in common. Worthy and capable men are selected, and trustworthiness and mutual accord are practiced. Thus, people do not only love their own parents, nor only care for their own children... The old find their end in peace, the able-bodied find their employment, the young find their growth, and the widowed, solitary, orphaned, disabled, and sick all find support. Men have their proper roles, and women have their proper place. Wealth is loath to be left discarded on the ground, yet it is not necessarily stored for oneself; strength is loath to be kept from exertion, yet it is not necessarily exerted for oneself. Thus, conspiracies do not form, and brigandage and rebellion do not arise, so outer gates are not closed. This is called Great Accord." (礼记·礼运)

This passage corresponds to the Tóng Rén hexagram as follows:

• "The world is held in common" (tiān xià wéi gōng)—Corresponds to "Gathering in Accord in the wilds." Both "gōng" (public) and "yě" (wilds) point to a public nature that transcends private interest.
• "Worthy and capable men are selected"—Corresponds to "Advantageous for the noble man to persevere." Using worthy and capable individuals to manage public affairs.
• "Trustworthiness and mutual accord are practiced"—Corresponds to "Civilization coupled with vigor." Trustworthiness (xìn) is integrity; mutual accord (mù) is harmony; civilization (wénmíng) is open uprightness; vigor (jiàn) is unyielding strength.
• "People do not only love their own parents, nor only care for their own children"—Corresponds to the inverse of Six Two's "Gathering in the ancestral temple brings regret." Love is extended beyond clan ties to all people.
• "Men have their proper roles, and women have their proper place"—Corresponds to "Classifying lineages and distinguishing things." Everyone has a suitable role and position.
• "Outer gates are not closed"—Corresponds to the inverse of Nine One's "Gathering at the door, no blame." The door need not be closed because the world is at peace.

The ideal of "Great Accord" is the highest social ideal of Pre-Qin Confucianism. The Tóng Rén hexagram can be seen as a blueprint for the path toward "Great Accord"—it not only depicts the vision of "Great Accord" but also reveals the inevitable difficulties and challenges encountered during its realization (Nine Three's conspiracy, Nine Four's conflict, Nine Five's alternation of sorrow and joy).