Qimen vs Bazi: Decision-Time Board or Birth Chart?
Hour-Qimen starts from a question moment and builds a nine-palace decision board; Bazi starts from birth date, time, and place to build Four Pillars.
Overview
Hour-Qimen starts from a question moment and builds a nine-palace decision board; Bazi starts from birth date, time, and place to build Four Pillars. Their primary objects, inputs, and time horizons differ. Choose Qimen for one current operational question; choose Bazi for a natal structure or longer developmental cycle. If both are used, label them as independent lenses and never merge calculations.
At a glance
- Page role
- System-boundary comparison
- Terms covered
- Qi Men vs Four Pillars · Qimen or Bazi
- Verification focus
- Choose Qimen for one current operational question; choose Bazi for a natal structure or longer developmental cycle. If both are used, label them as independent lenses and never merge calculations.
- Stop rule
- Neither system scientifically proves fate or removes the need for evidence. Do not combine outputs into a false confidence score or use either for deterministic identity labels.
Direct answer and scope
Hour-Qimen starts from a question moment and builds a nine-palace decision board; Bazi starts from birth date, time, and place to build Four Pillars. Their primary objects, inputs, and time horizons differ.
- Names and related terms: Qi Men vs Four Pillars
- Names and related terms: Qimen or Bazi
How the rule is formed or checked
Choose Qimen for one current operational question; choose Bazi for a natal structure or longer developmental cycle. If both are used, label them as independent lenses and never merge calculations.
Keep the cast moment, UTC offset, method version, palace, and interacting symbols visible before adopting an interpretation.
How to use this in a reading
A career offer this week fits Qimen; recurring career themes across life fit Bazi. The user’s actual question, not a claim of superiority, selects the system.
- Name the visible chart fact before assigning symbolic meaning.
- Compare the asker and matter anchors with every layer in their palaces.
- Record at least one supporting condition and one counter-signal.
- End with a reversible action and an observable review point.
Worked contrast
Using a birth chart to answer an immediate shipment delay may be too broad; using one hour chart to define lifelong identity overreaches a snapshot. Scope mismatch is the central difference.
Common mistake and limit
Neither system scientifically proves fate or removes the need for evidence. Do not combine outputs into a false confidence score or use either for deterministic identity labels.
Sources and editorial basis
- 猪野毅「奇門遁甲の基礎的研究」Abstract and pp. 161–185: history and vocabulary; nine palaces; Three Wonders and Six Instruments; Eight Gates, Nine Stars, and deities; 排宮 and 飛宮 method distinction.A 2010 Hokkaido University research article used for historical vocabulary, the basic board structure, and the documented distinction between rotating-palace and flying-palace approaches. It does not test predictive accuracy.
- NCC-T06 奇門遁甲專業版操作手冊NCC-T06 manual setting and board-field sections: configurable plate, center, bureau, deity, and day-boundary axes; used as evidence of modern method variation only.A modern professional-software manual used to document that plate, center, bureau, deity, and day-boundary settings vary. It is evidence of configurable practice, not an independent historical authority or accuracy study.
- OpenFate Qimen hour-chart methodOpenFate docs/QIMEN_SYSTEM.md, “Professional calculation contract,” “Interpretation and evidence contract,” and “Rule-source map,” source-reviewed 2026-09-12.Product-specific reference for OpenFate’s fixed-offset civil-time, hour-Qimen, rotating-plate, Chaibu implementation and its deterministic chart fields. A source review on 2026-09-12 does not prove live deployment, other schools, or predictive validity.