How heaven and humanity are united as one: Tong as an alternative to tianren heyi

Abstract

AbstractThe relation between heaven and humanity is a central topic in Chinese philosophy. It is often examined through tianren heyi, a term considered the most significant to Chinese culture. In this article, I argue that tianren heyi is inappropriate and even misleading in our discussion of the relation between heaven and humanity. I investigate its absence from pre‐Qin texts, the ambiguity of its meaning, and the exaggeration of its significance in Chinese philosophy. Hence, I advance tong as an alternative. My argument consists of two parts. First, I demonstrate that, in contrast to tianren heyi, tong is widely used as an important term by various early philosophical streams. Second, I focus on Mohist shangtong, Confucian datong, and Taoist xuantong, presenting how different philosophical streams take tong as a central term to develop distinct theories of the ideal relation between heaven and humanity. Instead of tianren heyi, tong can provide a solid step to a full understanding of how heaven and humanity are united.