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

Section 1: Laozi on "Accord" (Tóng) and "Difference"

Daoism approaches the issue of Tóng Rén from a different starting point than Confucianism. Confucianism starts from Rén (Benevolence), emphasizing accord based on human ethics; Daoism starts from the Dào (Way), Zìrán (Naturalness), and Wú Wéi (Non-action), revealing the deeper ontological foundation of the Way of Tóng Rén.

I. The Great Accord of the Dao

Laozi states:

"The Way that can be spoken of is not the constant Way. The name that can be named is not the constant Name. The Nameless is the beginning of Heaven and Earth; the Named is the mother of the myriad things." (Laozi, Chapter 1)

The "Dao" is the common source of all things—Heaven, Earth, and all things arise from the "Dao." If all things come from the Dao, then at the deepest level, all things are "the same"—sharing the same origin, the same substance, and the same destination.

"All things under Heaven are born of Being; Being is born of Non-Being." (Laozi, Chapter 40)

All things arise from "Being" (yǒu), and "Being" arises from "Non-Being" (wú). "Non-Being" is the ultimate source of all things. At the level of "Non-Being," all differences dissolve—there is no distinction between Heaven and Fire, between person and person, between Accord and Difference. This is a more thorough "Accord" than the Tóng Rén hexagram's "Gathering in Accord in the wilds"—it is not according with others in the wilds, but according with all things in "Non-Being."

II. The Accord of Naturalness (Zìrán)

Laozi particularly emphasizes Zìrán—the state in which things are naturally so.

"Man follows the Earth; the Earth follows Heaven; Heaven follows the Dao; the Dao follows its own self." (Laozi, Chapter 25)

"The Dao follows its own self" (Dào fǎ zì rán)—the Dao takes its own naturalness as its law. The highest law is not artificially established but arises naturally.

From the perspective of the Tóng Rén hexagram, the reason "Heaven and Fire" can "accord" is not because someone arranged them to be together, but because their nature is to move upward—Heaven is inherently above, and Fire naturally blazes upward—their "joint movement" is spontaneous.

True Tóng Rén should also be spontaneous—not forced, not arranged, not commanded, but a natural gathering resulting from the resonance of hearts. Laozi states:

"The best of rulers, the people barely know of their existence. The next best, the people love and praise. The next best, the people fear. The next best, the people scorn. When trust is lacking, there is distrust. How grandly aloof he is in his non-action! When his work is done, his aim achieved, the people all say, 'We did it ourselves.'" (Laozi, Chapter 17)

The best ruler allows the people to feel that everything happens naturally—"the people all say, 'We did it ourselves.'" The best Tóng Rén is also like this—people naturally come together without feeling any external coercion or arrangement.

III. The Accord of Non-Action (Wú Wéi)

"In the pursuit of learning, day by day increase; in the pursuit of the Dao, day by day decrease. Decrease and decrease again until you reach non-action. Having reached non-action, there is nothing that is not done." (Laozi, Chapter 48)

"Having reached non-action, there is nothing that is not done" (wú wéi ér wú bù wéi)—by deliberately doing nothing, everything is naturally accomplished.

In the Way of Tóng Rén, this principle means: Do not deliberately try to achieve Tóng Rén—do not use schemes, plots, or strategies to win people's hearts—but rather use a non-action approach so that people's hearts naturally submit. This stands in stark contrast to the scheming of Nine Three, "hiding armed men in the brush," which resulted in "remaining stalled for three years"—a complete failure. This is the flaw of "taking action" (yǒu wéi).

"The Way of Heaven does not contend, yet it is supremely victorious. It does not speak, yet it is supremely responsive. It calls not, yet things come to it of themselves. It draws up its plan loosely, yet nothing is left undone." (Laozi, Chapter 73)

"It calls not, yet things come to it of themselves" (bù zhào ér zì lái)—without summoning, people naturally come to return. This is the highest level of Tóng Rén—attracting hearts through moral influence rather than driving them with power.

IV. "The Highest Good is Like Water" and Tóng Rén

"The highest good is like water. Water benefits all things and does not contend; it dwells in the places that people disdain. Thus it is close to the Dao." (Laozi, Chapter 8)

Water benefits all things and does not contend—this image strongly resonates with the image of Six Two in the Tóng Rén hexagram. Six Two embodies yieldingness in centrality, not contending with any Yang line, yet precisely because of her gentle centrality, she becomes the core of the entire hexagram. What truly gathers people’s hearts is not the aggressive strong contender, but the yielding one who benefits others without contention.