同人
“Concording People” — King Wen #13
Fellowship in the open. Shared purpose with the right people gives strength for a great goal.
The Judgment 卦辞
同人于野，亨。利涉大川，利君子貞。
Tong Ren (or 'Union of men') appears here (as we find it) in the (remote districts of the) country, indicating progress and success. It will be advantageous to cross the great stream. It will be advantageous to maintain the firm correctness of the superior man.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The Six Lines 爻辞
同人于門，無咎。
The first NINE, undivided, (shows the representative of) the union of men just issuing from his gate. There will be no error.
同人于宗，吝。
The second SIX, divided, (shows the representative of) the union of men in relation with his kindred. There will be occasion for regret.
伏戎于莽，升其高陵，三歲不興。
The third NINE, undivided, (shows its subject) with his arms hidden in the thick grass, and at the top of a high mound. (But) for three years he makes no demonstration.
乘其墉，弗克攻，吉。
The fourth NINE, undivided, (shows its subject) mounted on the city wall; but he does not proceed to make the attack (he contemplates). There will be good fortune.
同人，先號咷，而後笑，大師克相遇。
In the fifth NINE, undivided, (the representative of) the union of men first wails and cries out, and then laughs. His great host conquers, and he (and the subject of the second line) meet together.
同人于郊，無悔。
The topmost NINE, undivided, (shows the representative of) the union of men in the suburbs. There will be no occasion for repentance.
Reading the Picture
Hexagram 13 places fire (离) beneath heaven (乾) —light and clarity clinging to what it illuminates below, creative force pressing upward above. This is why the tradition reads it as “Concording People”:fellowship in the open. Shared purpose with the right people gives strength for a great goal Whenever you cast this figure, the classical reading points back to that turning of forces.
Questions About Hexagram 13
What does 同人 (tóng rén) mean?
Hexagram 13 of the I Ching is named 同人 (tóng rén), usually rendered "Concording People" in English editions. Its figure pairs fire (离) below with heaven (乾) above.
Which trigrams form hexagram 13?
乾 (Heaven) sits above and 离 (Fire) sits below — the classical picture is light and clarity clinging to what it illuminates beneath creative force pressing upward.
How is hexagram 13 related to the other hexagrams?
Changing every line of hexagram 13 gives hexagram 7 — 師 (Leading). Turned upside down it becomes hexagram 14 — 大有 (Great Possessing). Its nuclear hexagram — the inner pattern of lines 2 through 5 — is hexagram 44 — 姤 (Coupling).
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1 Legge, James. The Yi King, Sacred Books of the East vol. XVI (1899), public domain. Classical Chinese from the received Zhouyi text. · For reflection and entertainment — not financial, medical, or life advice.