San Yuan Qimen
How to read a Qimen Dunjia chart
A Qimen Dunjia chart contains nine palaces, eight gates, nine stars, eight spirits, stems, and many patterns. This QMDJ chart explanation gives you a practical order: verify the time and question, identify the Useful God (Yong Shen) and both sides, compare their palaces, then test the reading against correction states and real options.
Open the current hour chart to follow along →About charting and AI readings
How charts are calculated, which time to enter, and what to expect from an AI reading.
- How charts are calculated
QimenMind calculates a time-based nine-palace Qimen chart and applies San Yuan as its core analysis framework. The solar term, day-pillar Futou, and upper, middle, or lower Yuan determine the Ju number. The chart shows Yuan Shen Gong, Yuan Qi Gong, Tian Yi Gong, San Yuan energy flow, Fei Fu, and Jin Tui from the calculated chart.
- Which time to enter
Question and hour charts use Beijing time (UTC+8). The current time is converted automatically. For manual entry, convert your local time to UTC+8 first, then enter the date using the solar or lunar calendar. Location and true solar time corrections are not applied. Shared links keep the selected date, time, and chart. The destiny (lifetime) chart is different: enter the local clock time at the birthplace without converting it to Beijing time.
- How to use a reading
Use QimenMind to study Qimen and see one specific situation clearly. The reading stays with the chart evidence; ask Dunyuan again as the situation develops.

Start with time and question
First verify the displayed casting time and define the question. For question charts, QimenMind treats manual entries as China Standard Time (Asia/Shanghai, UTC+8) without device-timezone, location, longitude, or true-solar-time adjustment. Convert another local time before entry. Career, cooperation, relationships, wealth, and travel use different Useful Gods and palace relationships. A clear question makes the chart readable.
Read Zhifu, Zhishi, and Useful Gods
Zhifu shows the presiding heavenly force and Zhishi shows the action gate. After that, locate the Useful God for the question and read its palace, star, gate, spirit, stems, and prosperity state.
Compare palace relationships
Do not stop at one palace. Compare self and other, action and result, Useful God and target, then add Kongwang, Rumu, Menpo, Jixing, Fuyin, Fanyin, and the San Yuan line.
State the judgment clearly
A useful reading should say which palace represents what, why the situation looks smooth or blocked, where the main risk lies, and what to watch next.
How to explain a QMDJ chart
Explain a QMDJ chart in layers: identify the question and casting time, name the Useful God and the palaces for each side, compare their five-element relationships and strength, add the gates, stars, spirits, stems, and special conditions, then state what evidence supports the judgment and next action.
FAQ
Why do different Qimen calculators give different results?
Different calculators can disagree even when the displayed clock time looks the same. For question charts, QimenMind interprets manual entries as China Standard Time (Asia/Shanghai, UTC+8), without device-timezone, location, longitude, or true solar time adjustment. QimenMind uses the Chaibu method for automatic Ju selection, following the solar term, day-pillar Futou, and upper, middle, or lower Yuan, with no manual Ju selection; chart analysis uses San Yuan Qimen. A tool using local time, true solar time, a different solar-term boundary, or Zhirun and other Ju rules can produce a different Yin or Yang Dun, Ju number, Xunshou, Zhifu, or Zhishi. If those foundation fields match but the palace layout or written judgment differs, compare rotating- or flying-plate layout rules, Useful God selection, and interpretation. Compare the same moment, time convention, and method before checking deterministic fields; a difference does not by itself prove that one tool is wrong.
Recast the same moment to compareDoes this explain what to compare first?
How do you explain a QMDJ chart?
Start with the question, time, and Useful God; identify the relevant palaces; compare strength and relationships; then use the gates, stars, spirits, stems, and special patterns to support one clear judgment.
What should I read first in a Qimen chart?
Read the question and Useful God first, then Zhifu and Zhishi. Without a question, symbol reading becomes vague.
Is more chart detail always better?
No. Details are useful only when they support the main judgment line.
Related guides
What is San Yuan Qimen Dunjia?
What San Yuan Qimen Dunjia means: follow Yuan Shen, Yuan Qi, and Tian Yi to read an event’s root, present conditions, and possible path forward.
Ask Dunyuan: Qi Men Dun Jia AI Reading
Dunyuan is QimenMind’s San Yuan Qimen AI reader. Ask one specific question to receive a chart-based tendency, evidence, timing, risks, and a practical next step; the first three AI questions per account are free.
How to ask a Qimen Dunjia question
Learn how to ask a clear Qimen Dunjia question: focus on one event, state its current stage, define your outcome, and name real constraints.
What do Zhifu and Zhishi mean?
Learn where to find Zhifu (Chief Star) and Zhishi (Chief Gate) on a Qimen chart, what each represents, and how to read them with the Useful God and palace relationships.
San Yuan Qimen vs rotating and flying plate Qimen
Compare rotating and flying plate layouts with San Yuan Qimen’s reading framework. See what each describes and which settings to check before comparing charts.
For the source tradition, browse the Qimen classics index, then read the Yanbo Diaosou Song.
Related tools, cases and articles
Current Qi Men Dun Jia hour chart
Cast the chart for this moment in China Standard Time (UTC+8).
Free Qi Men Dun Jia Destiny Chart
Build a birth chart with its major luck cycles and current year.
Qimen Dunjia for career and job interview decisions
Read a job choice, interview, offer or job change.
Qimen Dunjia for love, reconciliation and relationships
Read contact, reconciliation or commitment decisions.
Qimen Dunjia Classics
Browse the classics index and its annotated source texts.
The Yanbo Diaosou Song
Read the classic Qimen verse with a line-by-line reading.
Why two Qimen charts disagree for the same moment
Check clock time, day boundary, solar term and bureau before comparing readings.
Lifetime chart or hour chart? Start with the time input
Birth-place clock versus question time, and what each chart answers.
Who needs whom in Qi Men Dun Jia?
Compare the Day Stem and Hour Stem palaces layer by layer.
Use the calculator
Cast a Qimen Dunjia chart, inspect the nine palaces, and ask Dunyuan when you want help interpreting a specific matter.
Open Qimen calculatorSee which chart details Dunyuan reads and what kind of answer it provides.
See how AI reading works