Chinese Zodiac · 申 · 猴
Year of the Monkey
Clever, playful and inventive
In 2027 (丁未, Fire Goat)
2027 · the Fire Goat year →No special relation with the year — move at your own pace.
2027 is a 丁未 year: fire (丁) over earth (未).
The Monkey's branch, hour and season
- Earthly Branch
- 申 · YangMetal
- Double hour
- 申時 · 15:00–17:00
- Solar month
- 申月 · 立秋 → 白露 (about August 8 to September 8)
- Season
- Autumn
- Hidden stems (藏干)
- 庚 壬 戊
- Direction
- 240° on the compass (子 is due north)
These correspondences belong to the branch itself, so they are the same in every Year of the Monkey. The same branch also names an hour of the day and a solar month, which is how it appears in the hour and month pillars of a BaZi chart.
Traditional matches
古籍
From the classics
Wang Chong's Lùn Héng (1st century AD) is the earliest text that pairs each Earthly Branch with its animal.
巳蛇也，申猴也。Si is the snake, Shen is the monkey.
iching.tools translation (from the Chinese)
The classical Chinese is the authoritative text. Translations are iching.tools' own from the Chinese unless another translator is named; several attributions are traditional rather than historical (託名).
Years of the Monkey
Each year begins at the Start of Spring (立春), around 4 February. Born before that moment? You belong to the previous animal. Ages count from the year listed; someone born the following January, before 立春, is a year younger.
| Year | Pillar | Element | Starts (Start of Spring, Beijing time) | Age in 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | 壬申 | Water Monkey | 1932-02-05 08:29 | 94 (虛歲 95) |
| 1944 | 甲申 | Wood Monkey | 1944-02-05 06:22 | 82 (虛歲 83) |
| 1956 | 丙申 | Fire Monkey | 1956-02-05 04:11 | 70 (虛歲 71) |
| 1968 | 戊申 | Earth Monkey | 1968-02-05 02:07 | 58 (虛歲 59) |
| 1980 | 庚申 | Metal Monkey | 1980-02-05 00:09 | 46 (虛歲 47) |
| 1992 | 壬申 | Water Monkey | 1992-02-04 21:48 | 34 (虛歲 35) |
| 2004 | 甲申 | Wood Monkey | 2004-02-04 19:56 | 22 (虛歲 23) |
| 2016 | 丙申 | Fire Monkey | 2016-02-04 17:46 | 10 (虛歲 11) |
| 2028 | 戊申 | Earth Monkey | 2028-02-04 15:31 | — |
| 2040 | 庚申 | Metal Monkey | 2040-02-04 13:39 | — |
Year of the Monkey: common questions
- How old are people born in the Year of the Monkey?
- In 2026: 10 if born in 2016 (虛歲 11), 22 if born in 2004 (虛歲 23), 34 if born in 1992 (虛歲 35), 46 if born in 1980 (虛歲 47), 58 if born in 1968 (虛歲 59), and 70 if born in 1956 (虛歲 71). 虛歲 is the traditional Chinese count, in which a baby is one at birth and everyone gains a year together at New Year.
- Which years are Years of the Monkey?
- Recent Years of the Monkey are 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, and 2016. Each begins at 立春 (Start of Spring, around 4 February), not on 1 January or at Chinese New Year.
- Which signs go well with the Monkey?
- By the traditional branch relations, the Monkey's Six Harmony (六合) partner is the Snake, and it forms a Three Harmony (三合) group with the Rat and Dragon. Its opposite (六沖) is the Tiger; tradition reads that as contrasting rhythms rather than a bad match.
- Does the Monkey offend Tai Sui in 2027?
- No. The Monkey has no special relation to the year branch 未 in 2027, so tradition says to go at your own pace.
- I was born in January or early February. Am I a Monkey?
- Only if you were born after 立春 (Start of Spring, about 4 February) of a Year of the Monkey. Someone born in January, or in February before 立春, belongs to the previous sign, the Goat. The zodiac calculator checks your birth against the exact 立春 instant.