Kao Ke — Six Relations Verification (考克考六親)
The Kao Ke (考克) system is what makes Tie Ban Shen Shu uniquely different from every other Chinese fate-calculation system. Where Ba Zi, Zi Wei Dou Shu, and all other methods accept the birth hour at face value, Tie Ban explicitly refuses to do so. Instead, the practitioner uses an interactive dialogue — the Kao Liu Qin (考六親, Testing the Six Relations) — to identify the exact sub-division of the hour in which the subject was born, because even a 15-minute difference changes the entire clause selection and the resulting Life Book.
Why Birth-Hour Precision Matters
The Chinese day is divided into 12 Shi Chen (時辰, double-hours): Zi (子, 23:00–01:00), Chou (丑, 01:00–03:00), Yin (寅, 03:00–05:00), Mao (卯, 05:00–07:00), Chen (辰, 07:00–09:00), Si (巳, 09:00–11:00), Wu (午, 11:00–13:00), Wei (未, 13:00–15:00), Shen (申, 15:00–17:00), You (酉, 17:00–19:00), Xu (戌, 19:00–21:00), Hai (亥, 21:00–23:00). Each double-hour is further divided into eight Ke (刻) of approximately 15 minutes each. This means that within a single double-hour, there are eight distinct Tie Ban birth profiles — producing completely different clause sets.
In pre-modern China, precise birth times were rarely recorded. People knew they were born "during the Wu hour" but not in which ke. The Kao Ke process back-calculates the exact ke using confirmed life facts.
The Six Relations (六親 Liù Qīn)
The six categories tested are:
- Fu (父) — Father: The practitioner calculates which Earthly Branch year the father was born in based on the current ke value and asks the subject to confirm.
- Mu (母) — Mother: Same process for the mother's birth year branch (zodiac animal).
- Xiong Di (兄弟) — Siblings: The number of siblings (including the subject) predicted by the current ke value is verified.
- Pei Ou (配偶) — Spouse: For married subjects, the spouse's zodiac animal is the most powerful verification point, as it is unrelated to the subject's birth data by any obvious means.
- Zi Nv (子女) — Children: Number of sons and daughters, and their birth sequence (e.g., boy-girl-boy).
- Zi Shen (自身) — Self: Physical appearance or health characteristics visible to the practitioner may serve as additional confirmation.
Auxiliary Shen Sha Used in Verification
During the Kao Ke process, the practitioner also cross-checks known life circumstances against Shen Sha (神煞) predictions derived from the natal stems and branches. Key Shen Sha used in Tie Ban verification:
- Tian Yi Gui Ren (天乙貴人): Heavenly Noble — indicates helpful connections and avoidance of disaster
- Yi Ma (驛馬): Traveling Horse — indicates mobility or relocation in the life narrative
- Tao Hua (桃花): Peach Blossom — indicates romantic encounters and marriage timing
- Hua Gai (華蓋): Canopy Star — indicates scholarly or religious inclination
- Gu Chen / Gua Su (孤辰/寡宿): Solitary/Widowed Stars — indicates periods of isolation or bereavement
Sample Verification Dialogue
The following illustrates a typical Kao Ke exchange:
Master: "The Shen hour has eight ke. Let me calculate the first ke... The first ke indicates your father was born in the Rat year. Is this correct?"
Subject: "No, my father was born in the Horse year."
Master: "Good. Let me calculate the fourth ke... Fourth ke shows father as Horse. Correct. Now verifying mother. This ke shows mother as Ox."
Subject: "Correct! Mother was born in the Ox year."
Master: "Siblings including yourself should be three."
Subject: "Yes, three brothers."
Master: "Wife should be Rabbit or Pig."
Subject: "My wife was born in the Rabbit year."
Master: "Good — the ke is determined. You were born in the fourth ke of Shen hour. Now I will compile the Life Book."
The Built-In Authenticity Mechanism
The Kao Liu Qin process serves a dual purpose. Practically, it identifies the correct ke to generate accurate clause selection. Philosophically, it functions as an authenticity mechanism: because the practitioner is making testable predictions about independently verifiable facts (parents' zodiac, sibling count, spouse's zodiac), the subject can immediately assess whether the system is working. When all six relations verify, the subject has empirical grounds to trust the subsequent clauses. This gives Tie Ban a self-validating structure absent from all other life-reading systems.
Comparison with Other Systems
In Ba Zi, two people born in the same double-hour share the same chart (with Da Yun timing varying by gender). In Zi Wei Dou Shu, the same hour yields the same star chart. Only in Tie Ban does the practitioner drill down to the ke level — and only in Tie Ban is there a systematic verification procedure built into the consultation. The downside of this precision is the system's vulnerability: when even one verification fails, the entire clause set must be recalculated from a different ke, making mastery exceptionally demanding.