Hexagram 8 Bi - Complete Guide Part 4: Philosophy of Holding Together in Confucian, Taoist, and Political Thought
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BY NICOLE LAU
Hexagram 8 Bi - Complete Guide Part 4: Philosophy of Holding Together in Confucian, Taoist, and Political Thought
Bi is the I Ching's most complete statement on the philosophy of genuine community - and genuine community, in Chinese philosophical thought, is not merely a social convenience but a profound moral and political achievement. The community of Bi is not the organized army of Shi; it is the voluntary gathering of people who genuinely belong together around a central figure of genuine virtue. Part 4 explores what the greatest minds in Chinese thought made of water flowing naturally over the earth.
Bi in Confucian Philosophy
Ren (Benevolence) as the Foundation of Genuine Community
The Confucian concept of ren (benevolence, humaneness, the genuine love of others) is the philosophical foundation of Bi's central figure. The central figure of Bi is not merely a person of power or charisma; they are a person of genuine ren - whose genuine love of others is so evident that others naturally want to gather around them, whose genuine care for the community members is so apparent that the community members willingly give their belonging to the collective life.
Confucius's famous statement - the benevolent person loves others - is the Confucian expression of Bi's central figure: the person of genuine ren is the person around whom genuine community naturally forms, because genuine love of others is the most powerful attractive force in human social life. The person who lacks genuine ren - who performs the outward forms of care without genuine inner love - cannot sustain genuine community, because the community members will eventually recognize the absence of genuine ren and the community will dissolve.
Yi (Righteousness) and the Right Community
The Confucian concept of yi (righteousness, the sense of what is right and fitting) is the philosophical foundation of Bi's Line 3 counsel: you hold together with the wrong people. The person of genuine yi has a clear sense of which community is right for them - which community genuinely fits their values, their character, and their genuine commitments. The person who lacks genuine yi - who joins any available community without discerning whether it is genuinely right - is the person of Line 3, holding together with the wrong people.
Yi in the context of Bi is the discernment that enables genuine belonging: the ability to recognize which community is genuinely right and which is merely convenient, which central figure has genuine sublimity and which merely has charisma, which belonging is genuine and which is merely social performance. The Confucian tradition consistently argues that genuine yi is the prerequisite for genuine ren: the person who cannot discern what is right cannot genuinely love others, because genuine love requires genuine discernment of what is genuinely good for the beloved.
Li (Ritual Propriety) and the Forms of Genuine Belonging
The Confucian concept of li (ritual propriety, the forms and ceremonies that express and sustain genuine social relationships) is the philosophical foundation of Bi's inner and outer belonging (Lines 2 and 4). The inner belonging of Line 2 is the genuine inner commitment that li is meant to express; the outer belonging of Line 4 is the visible expression of that inner commitment through the proper forms of li. The Confucian tradition consistently argues that genuine li is the expression of genuine inner commitment - that the ritual forms are not empty performances but genuine expressions of genuine inner states.
The Confucian critique of empty ritual - the performance of the outward forms of li without genuine inner commitment - is the philosophical expression of Bi's distinction between genuine belonging (Lines 2 and 4 together) and superficial belonging (Line 4 without Line 2). The person who performs the outward forms of community membership without genuine inner commitment is the person whose belonging is superficial and temporary - the person who will leave the community when the outward forms become inconvenient.
The Junzi as Central Figure
The Confucian junzi (superior person) in the role of central figure is the embodiment of Bi's Line 5: the person of genuine sublimity, constancy, and perseverance around whom the community naturally gathers. The junzi central figure is not the charismatic leader who attracts followers through personal magnetism; they are the person of genuine moral cultivation whose genuine virtue is so evident that others naturally want to be near them, to learn from them, and to belong to the community they represent.
Confucius himself is the historical embodiment of Bi's central figure: the person of genuine ren and genuine yi whose genuine moral cultivation attracted a community of students who genuinely wanted to learn from him and to belong to the community of genuine moral cultivation that he represented. The Confucian school (rujia) is the historical expression of Bi's community: the voluntary gathering of people who genuinely belonged together around a central figure of genuine virtue.
Bi in Taoist Philosophy
Ziran (Naturalness) and the Natural Gathering
The Taoist concept of ziran (naturalness, self-so-ness) is the philosophical key to Bi's structural image: water flowing naturally over the earth, gathering in the lowest places, finding its natural level. The community of Bi is not organized or commanded; it arises naturally from the genuine attraction of what belongs together. The streams flow naturally toward the sea; the people flow naturally toward the central figure of genuine virtue. This natural gathering is the Taoist expression of Bi: not the organized deployment of force (Shi) but the natural gathering of what belongs together.
The Taoist critique of artificial community - the community that is organized, commanded, or coerced rather than naturally gathered - is the philosophical expression of Bi's Line 5 counsel: leave one side open. The community that is held together by coercion is not naturally gathered; it is artificially maintained. The Taoist tradition consistently argues that artificial maintenance is always less stable than natural gathering: the community that is held together by coercion will dissolve as soon as the coercion is removed, while the community that has gathered naturally around genuine virtue will maintain itself without constant effort.
Pu (Uncarved Block) and the Central Figure's Genuine Virtue
The Taoist concept of pu (the uncarved block, the state of genuine simplicity and genuine authenticity before the distortions of social performance) is the philosophical foundation of Bi's central figure's genuine sublimity. The central figure of genuine sublimity is not the person who has cultivated an impressive social persona; they are the person who has maintained genuine authenticity - the pu of genuine virtue that has not been distorted by the desire for social approval or social performance.
The Tao Te Ching's famous statement - the sage does not compete, and therefore no one can compete with them - is the Taoist expression of Bi's central figure: the person of genuine pu does not try to attract followers; they simply are genuinely themselves, and the genuine authenticity of their genuine virtue naturally attracts the community. The central figure who tries to attract followers through performance or strategy is the central figure who has lost the pu of genuine virtue - and the community that gathers around performance rather than genuine virtue is the community that will dissolve when the performance ends.
Wu Wei and the Invisible Central Figure
The Taoist principle of wu wei (non-action, effortless action) is the philosophical foundation of Bi's Line 5 transformation (to Hexagram 2, The Receptive): the highest central figure is invisible. The central figure who practices wu wei - who does not try to hold the community together through their own force but allows the community to hold itself together through its own genuine belonging - is the central figure who has achieved the Taoist ideal of effortless community leadership.
The Tao Te Ching states: The best leader, the people do not notice. The next best, they praise. The next, they fear. The worst, they despise. This is the Taoist hierarchy of central figures in Bi: the best central figure (wu wei, invisible) is the central figure whose community holds itself together through its own genuine belonging; the worst central figure (coercion, despised) is the central figure whose community is held together by force and dissolves as soon as the force is removed.
Bi in Classical Chinese Political Philosophy
The Feudal System as Bi's Political Expression
The Image of Bi - the kings of antiquity who bestowed the different states as fiefs and cultivated friendly relations with the feudal lords - is the political expression of Bi's philosophy: the ideal political community is not the centralized command of Shi but the distributed community of Bi, in which the central figure (the king) maintains genuine relationships with the various parts of the community (the feudal lords) through genuine mutual recognition and genuine mutual benefit.
The feudal system of Bi is not a hierarchy of command but a network of genuine belonging: each feudal lord belongs genuinely to the king, and the king belongs genuinely to each feudal lord. The king who maintains genuine relationships with the feudal lords - who genuinely cares for their wellbeing, who distributes resources fairly, who treats them with genuine respect and dignity - is the king who has access to the full reservoir of the feudal lords' genuine loyalty. The king who exploits the feudal lords depletes the reservoir and eventually loses the feudal lords' genuine loyalty.
Wang Dao (The Kingly Way) and Genuine Attraction
The Confucian political concept of wang dao (the kingly way, the way of genuine moral authority) is the political expression of Bi's central figure: the king who rules through genuine moral authority - through genuine ren, genuine yi, and genuine li - is the king who attracts the genuine loyalty of the people without coercion. The wang dao king is the political embodiment of Bi's Line 5: the central figure who leaves one side open, who does not coerce, who allows those who do not genuinely belong to leave freely, and who attracts the genuine loyalty of those who do genuinely belong through genuine virtue alone.
The Confucian tradition consistently contrasts wang dao (the kingly way of genuine moral authority) with ba dao (the hegemonic way of coercive power): the wang dao king attracts genuine loyalty through genuine virtue; the ba dao hegemon compels compliance through coercive power. The wang dao community is the community of Bi - voluntary, genuine, and durable; the ba dao community is the community of coercion - compelled, superficial, and temporary.
Tianxia (All Under Heaven) and the Universal Community
The classical Chinese political concept of tianxia (all under heaven, the universal community of all people under the moral authority of the virtuous ruler) is the political expression of Bi's most expansive vision: the community of genuine belonging that extends to all people who genuinely belong together under the moral authority of a genuinely virtuous central figure. The tianxia of Bi is not the empire of Shi (organized, commanded, coerced) but the universal community of genuine belonging: the voluntary gathering of all people who genuinely recognize the genuine virtue of the central figure and genuinely want to belong to the community that the central figure represents.
The Philosophical Tension: Attraction vs. Selection
Every philosophical tradition that has engaged with Bi has had to grapple with its central tension: the hexagram counsels both genuine attraction (the central figure attracts all who genuinely belong) and genuine selection (Line 3 warns against holding together with the wrong people). How do we know who genuinely belongs and who does not?
The Confucian resolution: genuine belonging is determined by genuine shared values - the community of Bi is the community of people who genuinely share the values of ren, yi, and li. The person who genuinely shares these values genuinely belongs; the person who does not genuinely share them does not genuinely belong, regardless of how much they may want to belong or how skillfully they may perform the outward forms of belonging.
The Taoist resolution: genuine belonging is determined by natural affinity - the community of Bi is the community of people who naturally flow together, like streams that naturally flow toward the same sea. The person who naturally flows toward the central figure genuinely belongs; the person who must be coerced or persuaded to flow toward the central figure does not genuinely belong.
Both resolutions point to the same insight: genuine belonging cannot be manufactured, performed, or coerced. It arises naturally from genuine shared values, genuine natural affinity, and genuine recognition of genuine virtue. The central figure who tries to manufacture belonging - who tries to attract people who do not genuinely belong through performance, strategy, or coercion - is the central figure who has violated the fundamental condition of Bi. For those drawn to the practice of discerning genuine virtue and cultivating authentic community, the 13 New Moon Rituals offers a framework for aligning with natural rhythms, while the 30-Day Tarot Practice Workbook deepens the self-reflection needed to recognize one's true path. Working with the The 52-Week Tarot Journey can help clarify the values that form the foundation of right community, and the Tarot Journaling Prompts provides a mirror for the inner work of discernment. Meanwhile, the Cosmic Alignment Ritual Kit supports the practice of syncing oneself with the larger patterns that guide genuine belonging.
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