Chart Types and Schools of Qi Men Dun Jia (奇門流派)

Chart Types and Schools of Qi Men Dun Jia (奇門流派)

Qi Men Dun Jia encompasses at least four distinct schools of thought, each with its own interpretation of the chart-plotting process and calendar system. Understanding these schools and their differences is essential for advanced students who encounter different teachers and textual traditions. The four main schools are: San Yuan Qi Men (三元奇門), Celestial/Bird Dun (禽遁), Fa Qi Men (法奇門), and Flying Palace Small Qi Men (飛宮小奇門). The most commonly taught and encountered is San Yuan Qi Men.

The 1,080 Charts

The total number of Qi Men Dun Jia charts is 1,080: 540 Yang Structure Charts (陽遁) and 540 Yin Structure Charts (陰遁). The Yang/Yin threshold is determined by the solar calendar's two solstices — Yang Dun runs from the Winter Solstice through the Summer Solstice, and Yin Dun from the Summer Solstice back to the Winter Solstice. Each chart is assigned a Formation Number (局/Ju) from 1 to 9, with nine formations per Yang and nine per Yin cycle, distributed across the 24 Solar Terms (節氣). The specific Ju assignment determines how the Nine Heavenly Stems, Eight Gates, Nine Stars, and Eight Deities are arranged in the Nine Palaces for any given time period.

Time Granularity: Year, Month, Day, Hour

Qi Men Dun Jia charts can be cast at four levels of temporal resolution:

• Yearly (年家奇門): Big-picture trends for world or national events. The least precise but most panoramic in scope. Useful for understanding long-term national or geopolitical tendencies.
• Monthly (月家奇門): Plans operating on a monthly scale. Historically used for military campaigns lasting months. Largely obsolete in modern practice.
• Daily (日家奇門): Plans operating on a day-by-day scale. Still useful for scheduling activities when hour-level precision is unnecessary.
• Hourly (時家奇門): The most popular and widely used chart type in modern practice. The Hour School promotes 1,080 charts as the most accurate representation of daily events. An ideal timing selection finds the same auspicious gate (e.g., Life Door/生門) confirmed across day and hour charts simultaneously.

Rotating vs. Flying Palace Schools

The two major technical camps within QMDJ divide on how the Nine Stars move through the Nine Palaces as the chart rotates through its 1,080 configurations:

Rotating Palace Method (時家轉盤宮法): The most prevalent school. In this system, the Nine Stars rotate through the palaces in a defined sequence as the Formation Number changes. The practitioner starts with the Duty Star (值符/Zhi Fu) and distributes the remaining stars accordingly. This is the method taught in most contemporary textbooks and courses.

Flying Palace Method (飛宮法): A less visible school where the palace grid itself is considered to "fly" — shifting the reference frame of the chart differently from the Rotating Palace method. The Flying Palace school has considerably less media and textual exposure than the Rotating School. Practitioners of this method generally operate within closed lineage transmission.

Calendar Calibration Debate: Zhi Run vs. Chai Bu

A persistent technical controversy in QMDJ concerns how the 1,080 charts are distributed across a solar year of 365.25 days. The two competing methodologies are:

Zhi Run Fa (置閏法 — Adding Extra Method): Also called the Imperial Qi Men method. This approach arranges the 18 Formations (9 Yang + 9 Yin) to fit into 365.25 days using an intercalary (extra) allocation system. The history of this method traces to Taiwan-lineage transmission. Charts are based on 365 days and plotted slightly differently from the Chai Bu method.

Chai Bu Fa (拆補法 — Splitting and Supplementing Method): The alternative calibration method that works on a 360-day primary framework, using a different intercalary logic. Each faction has credible theoretical arguments, but practical studies comparing their accuracy remain rare. The most important consideration is internal consistency: whichever method is used, it should be applied consistently throughout analysis.

San Yuan Method and the 64 Hexagrams Connection

The San Yuan Qi Men method represents a deeper integration of QMDJ with Xuan Kong Da Gua (玄空大卦) theory. In this system, the 1,080 Qi Men charts are each further subdivided into 64 hexagrams. For any given chart, there is a predefined phenomenological indicator — a specific observable sign that signals the optimal moment within the chart's timeframe to commence an action. These signs range from natural events (birds beginning to sing in a nearby tree) to human events (a woman dressed in red walking by). The effectiveness of San Yuan QMDJ practice depends heavily on the practitioner's ability to recognize these signs when they manifest, which is a skill refined through direct lineage transmission and extensive field experience.

The Fuyin and Fanyin Formations

Two special chart conditions deserve particular mention:

Fuyin (伏吟 — Prostrate Chanting): When a gate returns to its natural home palace — e.g., when Kai Men (Open Door) appears in the Qian Palace, which is its original fixed position. This condition creates a self-referential, inward-turning quality. Action initiated under Fuyin tends to produce results only after significant delay and internal struggle. Classical teaching warns that Fuyin is generally unfavourable for active endeavours requiring outward expansion.

Fanyin (反吟 — Reverse Chanting): When a gate appears in the palace directly opposite its natural home. This creates a state of reversal and contradiction. Under Fanyin, plans and situations tend to go contrary to expectation — what should advance retreats, what should succeed fails. Both Fuyin and Fanyin are critical chart conditions that practitioners must identify before providing timing recommendations.

Yang Dun and Yin Dun Principles

The Yang Dun period runs from the Winter Solstice to the Summer Solstice, during which Yang energy is ascending. During this period, the Ju numbers ascend from 1 to 9 across the Nine Palaces in a forward (順行) sequence. Yin Dun runs from the Summer Solstice to the Winter Solstice as Yin energy ascends; Ju numbers descend from 9 to 1 in a reverse (逆行) sequence. The YinYang threshold point — where the cycle turns — was historically marked at the Chou (丑) and Wei (未) positions on some traditional Luopan rings, not at the Zi (子) and Wu (午) positions used in later traditions. This detail remains a point of ongoing scholarly debate among lineage masters.