Hexagram 13
同人 Tóng Rén
Fellowship
☰ Heaven above ☲ Fire
Judgment 卦辭
于野。亨。利涉大川。利君子貞。
Commentary
Fellowship in the open—success. It furthers one to cross the great water. The perseverance of the person of moral stature furthers. True fellowship must be based on universal concern, not private interest. Cliques don't count.
Classical Text
同人離下乾上 同人于野，亨，利涉大川，利君子貞。
Tong Ren (Fellowship with People), Li (Fire) below, Qian (Heaven) above. Fellowship with people in the open wilderness — Success. It is beneficial to cross the great river. It is beneficial for the superior person's Correctness.
Image 象
天與火，同人。君子以類族辨物。
Heaven with fire—same direction, different natures. The person of character organizes by kind and distinguishes between things. Fellowship requires acknowledging both what unites and what differs.
Lines 爻辭
同人于門無咎
Fellowship at the gate. No blame. People meet at the entrance—the connection is beginning. No exclusive ties yet, so no blame.
Classical commentary
初九，同人于門，无咎。 居同人之始，為同人之首者也。无應於上，心无係吝，通夫大同，出門皆同。故曰「同人于門」也。出門同人，誰與為咎？
Initial Nine: Fellowship with people at the gate — no blame. Occupying the beginning of Fellowship with People, it is the head of fellowship. Having no corresponding partner above, the heart is without attachment or meanness, penetrating to the Great Unity — going out the gate, all are united. Therefore it says 'fellowship with people at the gate.' Going out the gate to unite with people, who would find blame in this?
同人于宗吝
Fellowship within the clan. Humiliation. When fellowship narrows to only your own kind, you've already failed the universal principle. This brings regret.
Classical commentary
六二，同人于宗，吝。 應在乎五，唯同於主，過主則否。用心褊狹，鄙吝之道。
Six in the Second: Fellowship with people limited to the clan — regret. Its correspondence lies in the fifth line; it only unites with its master, and beyond the master it refuses. The heart is narrow and confined — this is the way of pettiness and meanness.
伏戎于莽升其高陵三歲不興
Troops hidden in the thicket, climbing the high hill. Three years without rising. The attempt at connection through force or stealth fails completely. Years of waiting with no result.
Classical commentary
九三，伏戎于莽，升其高陵，三歲不興。 居同人之際，履下卦之極，不能包弘上下，通夫大同；物黨相分，欲乖其道，貪於所比，據上之應；其敵剛健，非力所當，故「伏戎于莽」，不敢顯亢也。「升其高陵」，望不敢進，量斯勢也，三歲不能興者也。三歲不能興，則五道亦以成矣，安所行焉？
Nine in the Third: He hides armed troops in the thickets, climbs his high hill — for three years he cannot rise. Occupying the juncture of Fellowship with People and treading at the extreme of the lower trigram, he cannot broadly embrace above and below or penetrate to the Great Unity. Factions among things divide from each other; he wishes to deviate from the Way, coveting those nearby, and seizes the correspondence that belongs above. But his adversary is firm and vigorous, not one his strength can match — therefore 'he hides armed troops in the thickets,' not daring to openly resist. 'He climbs his high hill' — he watches but does not dare advance, measuring the balance of power. For three years he cannot rise. If for three years he cannot rise, then the Way of the fifth line will already be accomplished — where could he go?
乘其墉弗克攻吉
Climbing the wall, but cannot attack. Good fortune. Approaching conflict, but recognizing you can't win—and stopping. Wisdom in not attacking.
Classical commentary
《象》曰：乘其墉，義弗克也。其吉，則困而反則也。
The Image says: He mounts the wall — but in terms of rightness he cannot prevail. That it is auspicious means that, being frustrated, he turns back to the rule.
同人先號咷而後笑大師克相遇
First weeping and lamenting, then laughing. The great army manages to meet after all. Fellowship tested by difficulty, nearly lost, finally achieved. The joy of reunion after near-separation.
Classical commentary
九五，同人先號咷，而後笑，大師克相遇。
Nine in the Fifth: In fellowship with people, first wailing and weeping, then later laughing. A great army overcomes, and they meet.
同人于郊無悔
Fellowship in the countryside. No regret. The bond forms outside the city, in the open—not as deep as it might be, but without the entanglements of closer alliance. No regret in this limited connection.
Classical commentary
上九，同人于郊，无悔。
Top Nine: Fellowship with people in the suburbs — no regret.