What Qi Zheng Si Yu Is: A Chinese Star Chart Read Against the Twenty-Eight Mansions
The first time I heard the phrase "a Chinese star chart" I took it for a joke.
Then someone put a Qi Zheng Si Yu chart in front of me: it had twelve palaces, it had luminaries, and every star carried a degree reading, with the names of the twenty-eight mansions written alongside.
It really is a star chart. It is just that the coordinates it uses are not the same set as Western astrology's.
What Qi Zheng Si Yu Looks At
Qi Zheng Si Yu, also called the Five Stars method, works from a person's year, month and day of birth, observing the dignity of the twelve palaces occupied by the seven luminaries and four hidden luminaries, and the degrees they sit at within the twenty-eight mansions, in order to judge the fortune of a life. It belongs to China's ancient stellar-fate learning (Source 1).
Taken apart:
Qi Zheng, the "seven luminaries", means the sun, the moon and the five planets — one group of major celestial bodies.
Si Yu, the "four hidden luminaries", means Rahu, Ketu, Zi Qi and Yuebo (Source 1). They are not planets visible to the naked eye but calculated virtual stars, and that is the most distinctive thing about this whole system.
The degree reading is the key: it insists, more strongly than Western astrology, on exactly which degree of the twenty-eight mansions a given star has reached.
The Three Schools
Qi Zheng Si Yu is traditionally divided into three schools: Qintang Five Stars, Guo Lao Xing Zong and Tianguan Five Stars. Of these, Qintang Five Stars is the oldest, said by tradition to come from the Tang-era monk Yi Xing; the Guo Lao Xing Zong line carried considerable influence as well (Source 1).
This point is quite practical: different schools use different stars and different rules for selecting them, so when two readings of yours do not agree, asking which school each came from is often faster than arguing about who is right.
Where It Resembles Western Astrology and Where It Does Not
Where they resemble each other: both look at which palace a luminary falls in, at their relations with one another, and at aspects; both require real ephemeris data.
Where they do not:
One, the coordinates differ. Western astrology uses the twelve zodiac signs, while Qi Zheng Si Yu also has to land on degrees within the twenty-eight mansions.
Two, virtual stars such as the four hidden luminaries have no counterpart in Western astrology.
Three, the dignity system for the luminaries is different, and so the basis for judgment differs too.
Why It Is Rare Today
Because it is hard. Working out degrees in the twenty-eight mansions requires a precise ephemeris and the conversions to go with it, and the four hidden luminaries are calculated virtual stars, so every step has to be done by the rules.
The few people I know who have studied this system all began by reading the old books, and the line they repeat most often is: learn the twenty-eight mansions by heart first.
A Qi Zheng Si Yu chart carries degree readings on it, and behind those degrees is the real sky. That is what makes it harder than many systems built on oral formulas alone, and also more solid.
Tools on this site (for entertainment)
This site offers an entertainment-oriented process: describe your situation clearly → get a method suggestion → read the chart and the interpretation → export the result if you want to keep it. The content is for entertainment and self-reflection only; it promises no prediction and is not decision advice.
This article was last checked on 19 September 2026. Traditional divination has many schools and a long history, and their formulas and versions do not fully agree; the text relies on publicly verifiable sources, and for dates and calendars please refer to the latest official publication.
Disclaimer: This article covers traditional culture and folk custom. It is for entertainment and self-reflection only, and does not constitute medical, psychological, investment, legal or marital decision advice. Please do not submit sensitive personal information such as ID numbers or detailed addresses. If you experience persistent insomnia, anxiety or physical discomfort, please consult a doctor or a qualified professional.
Sources
- "Qi Zheng Si Yu" (《七政四余》) — Wikipedia (including the Five Stars method and the three schools): https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-cn/七政四余 (accessed 19 September 2026)
- Method page on this site: Qi Zheng Si Yu: https://zhanbumizhi.top/en/methods/qizheng (accessed 19 September 2026)