01 / THE EARLY TEXT
The words themselves.
An interpretive English translation. Read the translation notes. Six and nine name line types; positions run from bottom to top.
中孚：豚魚吉，利涉大川，利貞。
Zhong Fu: Pigs and fish: auspicious. Favorable to cross the great river. A favorable determination.
初九：虞吉，有他不燕。
Nine at the beginning: Preparedness is auspicious. Another concern brings unease.
九二：鳴鶴在陰，其子和之，我有好爵，吾與爾靡之。
Nine in the second place: A crane calls in the shade; its young answers. I have a fine cup of wine; I will share it with you.
六三：得敵，或鼓或罷，或泣或歌。
Six in the third place: Meeting an opponent: now beating the drum, now stopping; now weeping, now singing.
六四：月几望，馬匹亡，无咎。
Six in the fourth place: The moon is nearly full. A paired horse is lost. No blame.
九五：有孚攣如，无咎。
Nine in the fifth place: Bound together in trust. No blame.
上九：翰音登于天，貞凶。
Nine at the top: The cock's call rises to Heaven. The determination is inauspicious.
02 / A POSSIBLE CONTEXT
What might the question have been?
Can animals, captives, or an agreement provide a reliable basis for an offering or river crossing?
A possible setting
Pigs and fish, a calling crane, a wine cup, a nearly full moon, and a lost horse appear together. Fu may involve trust, confirmation, or capture in early contexts; choosing “trust” does not settle every occurrence.
How the words respond
The judgment favors a crossing. A crane answered by its young and a shared cup suggest response between companions. Other lines introduce an opponent, alternating actions and emotions, a lost horse, and binding trust. The final cry rising to Heaven receives an adverse determination.
The received title “Inner Trust” is a reading aid. The varied uses of fu remain open to discussion.
This scenario adapts the Chinese edition's historical reading. It is a possible reconstruction, not an established single event or the only interpretation.