信及豚魚，誠通天地
先看圖像，再讀文字。Read the image before the words.
澤上有風，中孚
(The trigram representing) a lake, and above it that for wind, form Zhong Fu.
君子以議獄緩死。
The superior man, in accordance with this, deliberates about cases of litigation, and delays (the infliction of) death.
澤上有風——中孚之象。風行澤上而水動於中——是誠之動於內。君子由此體會：要評議刑獄、寬緩死刑。誠之至能感人——治獄之根本是「情」與「孚」，非苛法。
(The trigram representing) a lake, and above it that for wind, form Zhong Fu. The superior man, in accordance with this, deliberates about cases of litigation, and delays (the infliction of) death.
先讀經文，再讀《彖傳》如何解釋卦辭。The received text, then the Tuan commentary on it.
中孚，豚魚吉，利涉大川，利貞。
中孚卦——誠信能感豚魚（最微之物），吉。利於渡大川，利於守正。心中之誠是動天感地的根本。
Zhong Fu (moves even) pigs and fish, and leads to good fortune. There will be advantage in crossing the great stream. There will be advantage in being firm and correct.
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。
中孚卦：柔在內（六三、六四居中而虛）而剛得中（九二、九五）。悅（兌）而巽（順）——誠信乃能化育國邦。「豚魚吉」是信能達於最微之物。「利涉大川」是乘木舟（巽為木）而虛（中虛）——能渡險。「中孚以利貞」是應於天道。
In Zhong Fu we have the (two) weak lines in the inmost part (of the figure), and strong lines occupying the central places (in the trigrams). (We have the attributes) of pleased satisfaction and flexible penetration. Sincerity (thus symbolled) will transform a country.
六條線各有一句判斷。閱讀次序初→上；卦象由下而上，看左側的卦。One statement per line, read from the first line to the top. The figure is drawn bottom-up — watch the rail.
虞吉，有他不燕。
預先憂慮則吉——若有他念則不安。陽剛之始能誠而專一，無雜念則吉；有雜念則心不安。
The first NINE shows its subject resting (in himself). There will be good fortune. If he sought to any other, he would not find rest.
初九虞吉，志未變也。
初九虞吉，是志向未變。
鳴鶴在陰，其子和之，我有好爵，吾與爾靡之。
鶴在陰處鳴叫，幼鶴和應——我有好酒，我與你共飲。陽剛中正——誠之至，物與物相感（同類相應）；君臣、父子、朋友以誠相通即此境。
The second NINE shows its subject as the crane crying out in her hidden retirement, and her young ones responding to her. (It is as if it were said), 'I have a cup of good spirits,' (and the response were), 'I will partake of it with you.'
其子和之，中心願也。
幼鶴和應，是內心之願（誠的自然感應）。
得敵，或鼓或罷，或泣或歌。
遇到對手——或擊鼓進攻、或鳴金而退、或哭泣或歌唱。陰柔失正而心無定見——誠不在中，故動搖。
The third SIX shows its subject having met with his mate. Now he beats his drum, and now he leaves off. Now he weeps, and now he sings.
或鼓或罷，位不當也。
或擊或停，是位不當。
月幾望，馬匹亡，無咎。
月將圓——馬之同伴離去，無咎。陰柔得正而近九五——誠之至，能舍下從上（馬匹喻同列之友）。
The fourth SIX shows its subject (like) the moon nearly full, and (like) a horse (in a chariot) whose fellow disappears. There will be no error.
馬匹亡，絕類上也。
馬之同伴離去，是斷絕同類而上應九五。
有孚攣如，無咎。
有誠信而牽繫如連——無咎。陽剛中正居君位——誠信凝聚天下而連而為一。
The fifth NINE shows its subject perfectly sincere, and linking (others) to him in closest union. There will be no error.
有孚攣如，位正當也。
有誠信牽繫如連，是位正當。
翰音登于天，貞凶。
雞鳴之聲登上天空——守正則凶。誠之終，徒以聲響高遠而無實——華而不實，貞守反凶。
The topmost NINE shows its subject (trying to ascend by) the notes of a cock to heaven. Even with firm correctness there will be evil.
翰音登于天，何可長也。
雞鳴登天，怎能長久。
把象套到你的情境，取一個可行的下一步。Apply the image to your situation; take one practical step.
誠·應·慎
Sincerity · resonance · care
中孚卦最大的應用：「誠之至能感天地」+「中虛而能含實」。誠不是表演，是內在的真實。最高境是九二「鳴鶴在陰其子和之」——誠到自然有感應，不必強求。最該避免上九「翰音登于天」——徒有聲響無實質。「議獄緩死」是誠的終極實踐——以誠求情，慎用刑罰。
Zhong Fu's deepest applications: 'utmost sincerity moves heaven and earth' + 'central emptiness contains substance'. Sincerity isn't performance — it's inner truth. Peak: line 2 'crane calls in shadow, young responds' — sincerity naturally resonates without forcing. Avoid line 6 'cock's call rises to heaven' — sound without substance. 'Deliberate trials, delay death' is sincerity's ultimate practice — sincere inquiry, sparing punishment.
上九「翰音登于天」對現代華麗外表者是真鏡——行銷講得響、社交媒體裝得好、演講做得漂亮，但實質沒有，必凶。中國「至誠」之教是：誠到豚魚都能感，方是真誠；不及此境，皆「翰音」之類。
Line 6 'cock's call rising to heaven' mirrors modern glossy surfaces — marketing loud, social media curated, presentations polished, but substance absent. Inevitable evil. Chinese 'utmost sincerity' teaches: sincerity must reach pigs and fish to be real; anything less is just 'cock's call'.
王弼以為中孚卦的核心在「中虛而實」——卦象六爻中三陰二陽，中間二陰是「虛」的形象，但虛中能含真——是「誠」之象。讀此卦最該記住「信及豚魚」——誠之至連最微之物都能感應。又當深記九二「鳴鶴在陰其子和之」——誠之自然感應，不必勉強。
Wang Bi takes the core of Zhong Fu to be 'empty at the center, yet full' — in the figure the two yin lines in the middle give an image of emptiness, but that emptiness can hold what is real: the image of sincerity (cheng 誠). Most worth remembering is 'trust reaching even pigs and fish' — sincerity at its utmost stirs even the most insignificant creatures. And hold fast to line 2, 'the crane calls in the shade, and her young answer' — sincerity resonates of itself, without forcing.
程子強調中孚卦的爻辭層次：初九「虞吉」是誠之始（專一）、九二「鳴鶴在陰其子和之」是誠之感應、九五「有孚攣如」是誠之繫眾、上九「翰音登于天」是誠之失（華而不實）。最高境是九二、九五——一個是民間之誠、一個是君位之誠。
Cheng Yi stresses the graded order of the lines: line 1, 'wariness — good fortune,' is sincerity's beginning (single-mindedness); line 2, 'the crane calls in the shade and her young answer,' is sincerity's resonance; line 5, 'sincerity that binds fast,' is sincerity holding the many together; line 6, 'the cock's crow rising to heaven,' is sincerity's failure — show without substance. The high points are lines 2 and 5: one the sincerity of the common man, the other the sincerity of the throne.
朱子直言：中孚者，誠之在中也。卦象中虛——虛而能容、虛而能應、虛而能誠。學者讀此卦最該記住「中虛實誠」四字——表面之虛是真實之誠的容器。又當深記大象「議獄緩死」——治獄須以誠求情，不可苛刻。
Zhu Xi says plainly: Zhong Fu is sincerity dwelling at the center. The figure is empty in the middle — and being empty, it can contain; can respond; can be sincere. The four characters most worth keeping are 'empty center, real sincerity': the apparent emptiness is the vessel of genuine truth. And hold fast to the Great Image, 'deliberate over trials and delay executions' — justice must seek the truth of a case with sincerity, never with harshness.
中孚是誠。卦象中間兩爻是虛的，虛處恰是誠的居所，心裡空得下，纔容得下真。卦辭「豚魚吉」把標準立到極處：誠要到連豚魚這樣無知之物都能感動，纔算數。感應的樣子在九二「鳴鶴在陰，其子和之」，鶴在背陰處叫，小鶴自然應聲，誠不待宣告，回響自來。反面是上九「翰音登于天」，雞鳴之聲硬要送上天去，聲音跑到實質前頭，貞凶。眼下包裝先行、聲量壓過內容的做法，照的正是這一爻的鏡子。驗誠的法子也簡單：孚是叫一聲有人應，翰音是叫得響亮而底下空空。
Zhong Fu is sincerity. The two middle lines of the figure are open — and that open space is exactly where sincerity lives: only a heart with room in it can hold what is true. The judgment sets the bar at its highest with 'pigs and fish — auspicious': sincerity counts only when it can move even creatures as unknowing as pigs and fish. What resonance looks like is line 2: 'the crane calls in the shade, and her young answer' — the crane cries from a shadowed place, and the chicks answer of themselves. Sincerity needs no announcement; the echo comes on its own. The reverse is the top line, 'the cock's crow rising to heaven' — a rooster's cry forced up into the sky, sound running ahead of substance: ominous even held firmly. Packaging-first, volume-over-content habits today are looking straight into this line's mirror. The test for sincerity is simple: fu is a call that gets an answer; the cock's crow is a call that rings loud over nothing.
Sincerity at the center — trust (fu 孚) dwelling within. The hexagram's open middle is the vessel of what is real.
Piglets and fish — figure for the most insignificant creatures. If sincerity can stir even these, it is real.
Forethought, wariness; anticipating and preparing. Line 1's single-minded watchfulness.
At ease, at rest. Line 1: divided attention, and there is no rest.
The crane — classical emblem of the sincere call: crying unseen, answered anyway.
An ancient wine vessel; by extension, the wine itself — 'I have a fine cup, and will share it with you.'
To share, partake together — here, drinking the cup jointly.
To bind fast, link together — sincerity's grip that joins many into one.
The cock's crow (the Book of Rites calls the rooster han yin 翰音) — sound climbing skyward with nothing beneath it.
第 61 中孚與第 62 小過為一對錯卦（互為陰陽相反）——中孚二陰在內、小過四陰在外。中孚是誠之內聚，小過是慎之外行。讀此卦理應與小過並讀——同樣是「中道」的兩種表達。
Zhong Fu (61) and Xiao Guo (62) are opposites — every line yin-yang reversed. Zhong Fu has two yin lines within; Xiao Guo has four yin lines without. Zhong Fu is sincerity gathered inward; Xiao Guo is caution carried outward. Read the two together — they are two expressions of the same middle way.
卦辭「豚魚吉」是中國誠信觀的最高境——誠到連最微小的生命都能感應，方為真誠。後世「精誠所至，金石為開」「至誠如神」皆與此相應。
The judgment's 'pigs and fish — auspicious' is the highest expression of the Chinese view of sincerity: only sincerity that can stir the smallest lives is genuine. Later sayings — 'where perfect sincerity arrives, metal and stone split open,' 'utmost sincerity is like a spirit' — all answer to this.
九二「鳴鶴在陰其子和之」是中國最深的「同類相應」之喻——誠之動於內，遠處的同類自然能感。後世「同聲相應，同氣相求」「德不孤必有鄰」皆與此相應。
Line 2, 'the crane calls in the shade, and her young answer,' is China's deepest figure for like answering like: when sincerity stirs within, kindred spirits at a distance feel it of themselves. Later sayings — 'like sounds answer each other, like breaths seek each other,' 'virtue is never solitary; it always has neighbors' — all answer to this.
大象「君子以議獄緩死」是中國法治觀的根本——死刑須慎而又慎，因生命一去不返。後世「慎刑」「疑罪從輕」皆與此相應。中孚之大象——誠到此境方可治獄。
The Great Image's 'the superior man deliberates over trials and delays executions' is a root of the Chinese view of law: the death penalty demands the utmost caution, because a life once taken cannot return. Later principles — 'be sparing with punishment,' 'where guilt is doubtful, judge leniently' — all answer to this. Such is Zhong Fu's image: only sincerity of this depth is fit to judge cases.
「信及豚魚」之意？為何誠到能感最微之物方為真誠？
What does 'sincerity reaches pigs and fish' mean? Why must sincerity reach the smallest beings to be real?
為何九二「鳴鶴在陰其子和之」是中國「同類相應」之根？
Why is line 2 'crane calls in shadow, young responds' the root of Chinese 'like resonates with like'?
用上九「翰音登于天」評論你看見過某個外表華麗實質空洞之事。
Use line 6 'cock's call to heaven' to comment on something you've seen with glossy surface and empty substance.