Hexagram 61 of 64
Sincerity
中孚 Zhōng Fú
Upper trigram: 巽 Xùn, wind
Lower trigram: 兌 Duì, lake
The judgment
豚魚吉，利涉大川，利貞。
Piglets and fish: good fortune. It is fitting to cross the great river. It is fitting to hold firm.
The Great Image
澤上有風，中孚；君子以議獄緩死。
Above the lake there is wind: this is Sincerity. In the same way, the noble person deliberates over cases and delays the death penalty.
The six lines
Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.
Line 1 初九
虞吉，有它不燕。
Readiness brings good fortune. If there is something else, no ease.
Quiet readiness is named here, and any other concern disturbs the peace. Ask what one thing you are trusting, and whether a divided mind is keeping you from rest.
Line 2 九二
鳴鶴在陰，其子和之，我有好爵，吾與爾靡之。
A crane cries from the shade, and its chick joins the call. Mine is a fine wine cup. You and I will empty it together.
The crane is hidden and its young still hear it. Consider how what you mean sincerely may reach people without any effort to broadcast it, and who you would share your good cup with.
Line 3 六三
得敵，或鼓或罷，或泣或歌。
An enemy is found. Some beat the drum and some leave off. Some weep and some sing.
Drum, silence, tears and song follow one another in this line as one mood gives way to the next. Ask whether your feelings are being set by a rival or partner instead of by what you value.
Line 4 六四
月既望，馬匹亡，无咎。
The moon is past full. One horse of the pair is lost. No blame.
The moon has passed its fullest and one of a pair of horses has gone. Consider what alliance you might step away from so that you can keep faith with something more important.
Line 5 九五
有孚攣如，无咎。
There is trust, as if clasped fast. No blame.
The word here pictures hands joined or knotted tightly together. Ask who you are tied to by trust and what you owe to keep that knot firm.
Line 6 上九
翰音登于天，貞凶。
The sound of wings rises to heaven. Holding firm brings misfortune.
The sound rises where the bird itself cannot go. Ask whether your claims have climbed higher than what you can back up, and what it would cost to keep insisting on them.
What this hexagram says
This hexagram is lake below and wind above, with two broken lines held in the middle of four solid ones. Tradition reads the open center as a heart with nothing false in it. It stands for inner truthfulness and the trust that grows from it.
Tradition takes the piglets and fish of the judgment as humble creatures or humble offerings, and finds trust reaching even them. The judgment then calls it fitting to cross the great river and to hold firm. Ask who in your life you would find it hard to be straight with, and what would make it easier.
If your question is about a partnership, a difficult talk at work or a promise you have made, tradition reads this as a time when being believable matters more than being impressive. The last line is a caution about claims that rise higher than what stands behind them.
A hexagram is a prompt for reflection. It cannot promise a result, and it is no substitute for medical, legal or financial advice.
Where this text comes from
The Chinese follows the Wikisource text of the Zhou Yi (its page for this hexagram, 周易/中孚), compared with the Project Gutenberg edition. The Great Image comes from the Wikisource page 周易/大象.
- Wikisource, 周易
Retrieved 2026-11-08
- Project Gutenberg eBook 25501, 易經
Retrieved 2026-11-08
Read this hexagram with its traditional commentaries in our library.
Where the sources differ
- In line 初九, Wikisource (A) writes 有它 and Project Gutenberg (B) writes 有他. Both mean something else here. Wikisource also gives the note 一作「他」, an alternative reading.
- In line 六四, Wikisource (A) reads 月既望 (the moon is past full). Project Gutenberg (B) reads 月幾望 (the moon is almost full). Wikisource also gives the note 一作「几、幾」, an alternative reading.
- In lines 六四 and 九五, Project Gutenberg (B) writes 無 where Wikisource (A) has 无. These are variant forms of the same word.
The English renderings and the advice are by Cast & Chart. The advice is a modern reading and is not part of the classical text.