Who's fuling who?

The Yi often talks about fu 孚, a character which is many times translated as 'trust', 'confidence' or 'truth'. But what is fu? With many hexagrams the Yi mentions that there is fu: 有孚. But where is it?

On bronze inscriptions we see 孚 mainly used as a verb: to capture people, chariots, or other materials during a battle (see the entries in 金文引得, 春秋戰國卷 on p. 100). It was the act of acquiring war booty, and sometimes it also referred to the booty itself. But it mainly was a verb. This meaning was lost in later centuries, instead of a verb it became a quality. The Shijing 詩經, The Book of Odes, contains a good example of fu as a quality:

王配于京、世德作求。
永言配命、成王之孚。

King [Wu] was their worthy successor in his capital,
Rousing himself to seek for the hereditary virtue,
Always striving to accord with the will [of Heaven] ;
And thus he secured the confidence due to a king.
Shijing M243

Here Fu is translated as ‘confidence’, but it is not the confidence of the king, it is the confidence that the king inspires in his people. That is the quality of fu: through sincerity you inspire confidence or trust in others, the others have confidence in you. Fu is a quality, just as de 德, ‘virtue’, is a quality. This quality is visible in the fifth line of hexagram 14:

厥孚交如威如吉
He inspires confidence which connects and creates reverence.

I’m reading jiao 交 as “兩者相接觸” (漢語大詞典-2.327) and wei 威 as “顯示的使人畏懼懾服的力量” (漢語大詞典-5.218). The quality of fu enables the king to connect with his people and make them stand in awe with respect and trust.

At the sixth line of hexagram 37 fu again is connected with wei, ‘creating awe/reverence’:

有孚威如
Having fu, (thereby) creating reverence.

At the fifth line of hexagram 51 there is again mention of a connection:

有孚攣如无咎
Having fu which joins together. No fault.

Reading luan 攣 as “牽繫不斷；連綴” (漢語大詞典-7.799).

At the fifth line of hexagram 58 the fu is severed:

孚于剝有厲
The fu is harmed, giving trouble.

Reading bo 剝 as “傷害” (漢語大詞典-2.713). If the king was not able to inspire confidence this surely would lead to trouble.

The link between fu in the old meaning of ‘capturing’ or ‘captive’ and the meaning of 'inspiring confidence in others' can be seen in the bronze inscriptions: these inscriptions often commemorated the captures that were made during a siege. The captures were trophies, which had to be recorded to inspire confidence in the current generation and the ones to come: the king was/had been a trustworthy and reliable leader.

So what does it mean when you read in the Yijing that there is fu? It depends on the situation, but it could indicate that there is sincerity (genuineness, naturalness, authenticity), which enables to connect with the goals that are set, or with the means that can be put to use. Without fu there is no connection and it will be very difficult (though not impossible) to achieve anything. Fu works on the long term, without fu you are only able to achieve limited goals on the short term. Fu enables you to get and keep processes going, it is the oil that keeps the motor running smoothly and avoids damage. If there is no fu in you or the person(s) involved, it is better to reconsider your plans and think about your motivations and intentions. Fu is a quality that is essential when you work with other people. Without it, cooperation can be pretty tough.