SIDE BY SIDE
Compare mantic systems
Read systems against shared questions to identify common language, procedural differences and distinct limits.
| Dimension | 紫微斗数 ↗ | 四柱子平命理 ↗ |
|---|---|---|
| Family | Fate calculation and astral nativities | Fate calculation and astral nativities |
| Inputs | Lunar date/hour, leap-month treatment, palaces and transformation table | Record precision, place, time standard and year/month conventions |
| Procedural structure | Month and hour locate life and body palaces; birth day and a five-phase bureau place the Ziwei and Tianfu star groups, followed by auxiliaries, challenging stars and transformations. Palaces, qualitative states and major-minor-annual periods form the reading layers. | Eight characters form four pillars with the day stem as reference. The month command supplies season; visible and hidden stems become ten relations. Schools then emphasize pattern, strength, climatic adjustment, spirits or resonance and arrange major and annual cycles. |
| Formation | Draws on medieval astral traditions; reliable textual witnesses cluster in the Ming | Tang fate calculation as predecessor; Four-Pillar system matured after the Five Dynasties and early Song |
| Evidence labels | Textually documented · Traditional attribution · Contested lineage or date | Textually documented · Traditional attribution · Contested lineage or date |
| Texts | Ziwei Doushu Jielan / Received Complete Collections of Ziwei Doushu / Related Ming astral manuscripts | Li Xuzhong Mingshu / Wuxing Jingji / Yuanhai Ziping / Sanming Tonghui / Ditian Sui and Ziping Zhenquan |
| Limits | Most of its stars function as internal symbols, without a direct correspondence to real-time celestial positions. Claims of invention by Chen Tuan or a preface by Luo Hongxian are textually disputed. | The received Li Xuzhong text is not an intact Tang original, and sole invention by Xu Ziping oversimplifies long development. Birth-time conversion should state timezone, local solar-time policy and calendar source. |
| Research question | How do leap-month and transformation conventions affect a chart? | Which pillars change near a solar-term boundary? |