中孚Zhongfu · Inner Truth
In one sentence
Sincerity moves people. This matter rests on one word: trust.
The hexagram of inner honesty: with enough sincerity, even little pigs and fish can be moved. Bring your true heart and do what you say; with that you can get past a great hurdle. Toward other people's faults, be a little more lenient and a little slower to judge.
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- This matter rests on a single word: trust. Do what you say, play no tricks, and people will naturally believe you; even the hardest person to move can be moved. With that sincerity, a big crossing can be made. When others make mistakes, handle it a little more leniently and a little more slowly, and don't rush to come down hard.
- Love
- A true heart moves people. No technique, no testing: bring out the honest words in your heart, and do what you have said. With that trust between two people, even a big hurdle can be crossed. If the other person is at fault, hold off a while, and don't rush to say something final. Without sincerity inside, the good of this hexagram is not there.
- Money
- In money matters, your word comes first. Repay what you promised on time, don't go back on agreed terms; that is what makes business last. Before working with someone, see whether they are sincere, and bring your own sincerity too. By being sincere and staying true, a big crossing can be made; deception and bluffing have no part in this hexagram.
This is the hexagram as a whole. If your cast has changing lines, the line text governs; each line's page has its own reading for work, love and money.
The judgment
In plain wordsSincerity that can move even creatures as unknowing as piglets and fish: good fortune. You can cross the great river; it is favorable to stay true.
The Tuan commentary
中孚，柔在內而剛得中。說而巽，孚，乃化邦也。豚魚吉，信及豚魚也。利涉大川，乘木舟虛也。中孚以利貞，乃應乎天也。
Zhongfu: the yielding is within, and the firm holds the center. Joyful and gentle: with sincerity, the state is then transformed. "Piglets and fish: good fortune": trust reaches even piglets and fish. "It is favorable to cross the great river": one rides on wood, in a boat that is empty. Zhongfu, and with it "it is favorable to stay true": this then answers to heaven.
The Tuan (“judgment”) commentary is one of the Ten Wings. It explains the hexagram name and the judgment from the two trigrams and the positions of the lines.
The image
澤上有風，中孚。君子以議獄緩死。
Wind over the lake: Zhongfu (Inner Truth). The noble one deliberates on criminal cases and delays executions.
The lines
Nine at the beginning
Text虞吉，有它不燕。Weighing it first: good fortune. If there is something else, there is no rest.In plain wordsFirst weigh carefully whether the other person can be trusted, then trust him: good fortune. If in your heart you have other designs as well, you will have no peace. More on this line →
Nine in the second place
Text鳴鶴在陰，其子和之。我有好爵，吾與爾靡之。A crane calls in the shade; its young one answers. I have a fine cup of wine; I will share it with you.In plain wordsA crane calls in the shade of the trees, and its young answers in harmony. I have a cup of good wine and would like to share it with you. A sincere person will naturally find sincere people responding. More on this line →
Six in the third place
Text得敵，或鼓或罷，或泣或歌。One meets one's match. Now drumming, now stopping. Now weeping, now singing.In plain wordsYou have met an opponent, and so one moment you beat the drum and attack, the next you stop; one moment you cry, the next you sing. You have no mind of your own and are led about entirely by the other side. More on this line →
Six in the fourth place
Text月幾望，馬匹亡，无咎。The moon is nearly full. The horse loses its mate. No blame.In plain wordsThe moon is almost full. You leave your former companion behind and with your whole heart follow upward the one who deserves your trust. No blame. More on this line →
Nine in the fifth place
Text有孚攣如，无咎。There is sincerity that binds fast. No blame.In plain wordsWith good faith you bind people's hearts firmly together. No blame. More on this line →
Nine at the top
Text翰音登于天，貞凶。The rooster's cry rises toward heaven. Persisting brings misfortune.In plain wordsA rooster's crow that wants to carry up to heaven. A rooster is not a creature that can climb to the sky. You have trusted what should not be trusted and stubbornly refuse to adapt; even with good intentions there is misfortune. More on this line →
Lines are counted from the bottom. “Nine” is a yang (solid) line, “six” a yin (broken) line. A line applies to your reading only when it is a changing line.
Related hexagrams
Primary, resulting, nuclear, opposite and inverted hexagrams explained →
In the hexagram calendar
In the Tang monk Yixing’s Dayan calendar, Zhongfu belongs to the first pentad of Winter Solstice, “Earthworms curl up” (December 22 to December 26, 2026).