From determining the time pillars to arranging the nine palaces, this article walks through the complete Qi Men Dun Jia chart setup. Includes a Yang Dun chart 4 worked example, three common beginner mistakes (true solar time, solstice boundary, Zi hour crossing midnight), 6 FAQs, and an AI online charting tool.
Qi Men Dun Jia (奇门遁甲) is known as the "Study of Emperors" — the highest-level predictive system in ancient Chinese cosmology. Together with Tai Yi Shen Shu and Da Liu Ren, it forms the "Three Cosmic Boards" (三式). It integrates astronomy, calendrical science, mathematics, and philosophy, and was historically required study for military strategists and statesmen. Its power lies in mapping time-space energy onto a structured chart, helping practitioners choose the optimal moment and direction to act.
According to historical records, Qi Men Dun Jia originated in the era of the Yellow Emperor. Legend says the Yellow Emperor was repeatedly defeated by Chi You at the Battle of Zhuolu until Jiu Tian Xuan Nü (the Mysterious Lady of Nine Heavens) transmitted the art of Qi Men Dun Jia, with which he finally unified the Chinese tribes. The original system had 4,320 charts, simplified by Feng Hou to 1,080, then by Jiang Tai Gong to 72, and finally by Zhang Liang to the 18 charts used today.
During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, Qi Men Dun Jia was widely applied in military and political strategy. Han-dynasty strategist Zhang Liang used it to help establish the Han dynasty; Three Kingdoms strategist Zhuge Liang elevated it to legendary status. Later masters include Yuan Tian Gang and Li Chun Feng (Tang), Shao Yong (Song), and Liu Bo Wen (Ming).
In modern times, Qi Men Dun Jia has expanded from the military-political domain into civilian use — business decisions, life planning, date and timing selection. Modern practice splits into time-based, day-based, month-based, and year-based Qi Men, with time-based Qi Men (时家奇门) being by far the most widely used.
The system is built on three core components: Three Odds (奇), Eight Doors (门), and Six Yi (遁甲).
Yi (乙) — the Sun Odd
Bing (丙) — the Moon Odd
Ding (丁) — the Star Odd
Xiu Men 休门 — Rest Gate (North, Kan palace)
Sheng Men 生门 — Life Gate (Northeast, Gen palace)
Shang Men 伤门 — Harm Gate (East, Zhen palace)
Du Men 杜门 — Closed Gate (Southeast, Xun palace)
Jing Men 景门 — Splendor Gate (South, Li palace)
Si Men 死门 — Death Gate (Southwest, Kun palace)
Jing Men 惊门 — Shock Gate (West, Dui palace)
Kai Men 开门 — Opening Gate (Northwest, Qian palace)
The Six Jia are: Jia Zi, Jia Xu, Jia Shen, Jia Wu, Jia Chen, Jia Yin. In Qi Men, Jia (甲, the first Heavenly Stem) is called "Hidden Jia" (遁甲) because as the leader of the ten stems, it must be concealed and protected. Each of the Six Jia hides under one of the Six Yi:
Year, Month, Day, Hour
Solar Term Subdivision Each of the 24 solar terms spans 15 days, divided into Upper, Middle, and Lower yuan (元) of 5 days each:
Yang Dun vs Yin Dun
Local Number The specific chart number depends on the solar term and the yuan. For example:
The Earth Plate is fixed, following the Later Heaven Bagua arrangement:
After fixing the palaces, place the Three Odds and Six Yi according to the local number. The rule: Yang Dun arranges forward, Yin Dun arranges backward. For example, Yang Dun chart 1 starts Wu at Palace 1, then proceeds 1→2→3→4→5→6→7→8→9 placing "Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui, Ding, Bing, Yi".
The Heaven Plate is dynamic, carrying the Nine Stars: Tian Peng, Tian Rui, Tian Chong, Tian Fu, Tian Qin, Tian Xin, Tian Zhu, Tian Ren, Tian Ying.
Core rules:
Star Polarity:
The Human Plate is also dynamic, carrying the Eight Doors (Xiu, Sheng, Shang, Du, Jing-Brilliance, Si, Jing-Shock, Kai).
Core rules:
The Spirit Plate carries the Eight Spirits: Zhi Fu, Teng She, Tai Yin, Liu He, Bai Hu, Xuan Wu, Jiu Di, Jiu Tian.
Core rules:
Once all four plates are set, every palace carries a "Door – Star – Spirit – Stem" combination — this is your complete Qi Men Dun Jia chart.
Let's walk through a concrete case using Yang Dun chart 4.
Yang Dun chart 4 means starting Wu at Palace 4, then placing the Six Yi and Three Odds forward:
Suppose the current time stem is Bing. Bing sits at Palace 2 on the Earth Plate — Palace 2 is the Use Palace (用宫), and the dynamic plates rotate around it.
By the Six Jia patrol rule, suppose the current time pillar belongs to the Jia Shen patrol — then Zhi Fu is Tian Qin, and Zhi Shi is Kai Men.
Tian Qin (Zhi Fu) follows the time stem Bing into Palace 2; the remaining eight stars rotate forward.
Kai Men (Zhi Shi) starts at Palace 2, with the other seven doors rotating forward.
Yang Dun forward: Zhi Fu (Palace 2) → Teng She (Palace 3) → Tai Yin (Palace 4) → Liu He (Palace 5) → Bai Hu (Palace 6) → Xuan Wu (Palace 7) → Jiu Di (Palace 8) → Jiu Tian (Palace 9).
Once all four plates are complete, focus on:
Don't want to compute these six steps by hand? The AI Qi Men Online Chart completes the entire setup in one second and provides AI-driven interpretation.
Setting up a Qi Men chart looks straightforward in theory, but the error rate is surprisingly high. These three pitfalls are the most common.
China spans five time zones but uses Beijing Time (UTC+8) nationally. Qi Men, however, requires True Solar Time — adjusted for your specific geographic longitude.
The fix:
Impact: a one-to-two-hour drift in the time pillar means an entirely different chart — Yang Dun chart 4 might become chart 5, and every palace's Door–Star–Spirit–Stem combination changes.
Winter Solstice marks the start of Yang Dun; Summer Solstice marks the start of Yin Dun. On the day of the solstice, a few hours can flip the entire system.
The fix: look up the precise solar term timestamp (down to the minute), not the calendar date. If Winter Solstice is at 04:03, a chart cast at 03:00 still belongs to Yin Dun; one cast at 05:00 is already Yang Dun.
Impact: getting Yang/Yin Dun wrong reverses every plate's rotation direction — your conclusion will be the opposite of the truth.
Zi Hour runs from 23:00 to 01:00 of the next day. After 23:00, you are already in the next day's Zi Hour, and the day pillar must shift forward.
The fix: between 23:00 and 23:59, use the next day's stem-branch for the day pillar.
Impact: a one-day error in the day pillar shifts the patrol cycle, which corrupts both Zhi Fu and Zhi Shi — invalidating the entire reading.
Qi Men Dun Jia is an ancient Chinese predictive system grounded in astronomy, calendrical science, and mathematics. It has a rigorous logical structure — every step (solar term → time pillar → Yang/Yin Dun → local number → Three Odds and Six Yi placement) follows reproducible rules. Accuracy depends on three things: whether the chart was set up correctly, the reader's interpretive experience, and whether the question falls within Qi Men's strengths.
Using an AI chart tool lets you skip the most tedious setup steps and focus practice time on reading.
In short: Liu Yao tells you "will it happen?"; Qi Men tells you "how and when to act."
Further reading: Liu Yao Divination Guide: From Casting to Interpretation.
Less suitable for: pure emotional analysis or introspective questions — try Tarot or Liu Yao for those instead.
Yes. Once you understand the principles, daily practice is best done with the AI Qi Men Chart — it completes all six setup steps in one second and gives you a full chart plus AI interpretation.
Save your effort for reading the chart — that is the real heart of Qi Men Dun Jia.
No. Qi Men is designed for major decisions (especially time-based Qi Men). For everyday matters, Mei Hua Yi Shu or Liu Yao are lighter and more appropriate. The classic pairing rule is: "small matters use Mei Hua, big matters use Qi Men."
Theory is only half the battle. Open the AI Qi Men Online Chart, enter a real question you are facing right now ("should I take the new offer?", "when should we schedule the surgery?"), let AI cast a chart for you, then walk through this article to interpret it step by step.
One hundred charts cast beats ten books read.
