Chinese zodiac · 子 Zi
Year of the Rat in the Chinese zodiac
The Rat (子, Zi) is one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac — the Earthly Branch of the year pillar. The Year of the Rat returns every twelve years: here are all its years from 1924 to 2031 with the exact start of each, its five elements, its traditional image and how the 2027 year meets it.
The branch 子 at a glance
- Earthly Branch
- 子 · Zi
- Phase
- Water · 水
- Polarity
- Yang
- Two-hour period
- 23:00–01:00
- Solar month
- from Da Xue (Major Snow)
- Hidden stems
- 癸 Yin Water
The traditional image of the Rat
The tradition pictures the Rat as quick, alert and resourceful — first of the twelve, because in the legend of the Great Race it rode on the Ox’s back and jumped ahead at the finish. Its branch marks midnight and the depth of winter, the moment a new cycle begins.
How the tradition pictures the animal — a symbol, not a description of every person born in its years.
2027 and the Rat
2027 is the year of 丁未 Ding Wei — Yin Fire over the Goat. This is how the traditional tables read the bond between its branch 未 and the Rat’s branch 子.
- harm
Harm (Liu Hai): 子 and 未 form one of the six harms. The tradition reads a harm as a quieter friction — misunderstandings rather than open conflict.
This is how a traditional symbolic system describes two branches, not a forecast. In BaZi a year is read against all four pillars of a chart, not against the animal alone.
Chinese zodiac 2027: the year of the Goat →
Chinese zodiac compatibility chart: the twelve animals pair by pair →
Years of the Rat
A BaZi year runs from Li Chun to Li Chun, a lunar-calendar year from Chinese New Year to the eve of the next one. Times are China Standard Time (UTC+8); born close to Li Chun, check your exact birth moment in the calculator.
| Year | Stem | BaZi year (Li Chun to Li Chun) | Lunar year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | Yang Wood 甲子 | 5 February 1924, 09:49 – 4 February 1925, 15:36 | 5 February 1924 – 23 January 1925 |
| 1936 | Yang Fire 丙子 | 5 February 1936, 07:29 – 4 February 1937, 13:25 | 24 January 1936 – 10 February 1937 |
| 1948 | Yang Earth 戊子 | 5 February 1948, 05:42 – 4 February 1949, 11:22 | 10 February 1948 – 28 January 1949 |
| 1960 | Yang Metal 庚子 | 5 February 1960, 03:23 – 4 February 1961, 09:22 | 28 January 1960 – 14 February 1961 |
| 1972 | Yang Water 壬子 | 5 February 1972, 01:20 – 4 February 1973, 07:04 | 15 February 1972 – 2 February 1973 |
| 1984 | Yang Wood 甲子 | 4 February 1984, 23:18 – 4 February 1985, 05:11 | 2 February 1984 – 19 February 1985 |
| 1996 | Yang Fire 丙子 | 4 February 1996, 21:07 – 4 February 1997, 03:01 | 19 February 1996 – 6 February 1997 |
| 2008 | Yang Earth 戊子 | 4 February 2008, 19:00 – 4 February 2009, 00:49 | 7 February 2008 – 25 January 2009 |
| 2020 | Yang Metal 庚子 | 4 February 2020, 17:03 – 3 February 2021, 22:58 | 25 January 2020 – 11 February 2021 |
The five Rat years
Every Rat year pairs the branch 子 with one of five Heavenly Stems of the same polarity, so each pairing of the Rat with an element returns every sixty years.
- WoodYang Wood · 甲子 Jia Zi1924, 1984
- FireYang Fire · 丙子 Bing Zi1936, 1996
- EarthYang Earth · 戊子 Wu Zi1948, 2008
- MetalYang Metal · 庚子 Geng Zi1960, 2020
- WaterYang Water · 壬子 Ren Zi1972
The animal is one sign of eight
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Calculate my BaZi chartBaZi and the Chinese zodiac are a traditional symbolic system. These pages describe how the tradition reads a sign; they do not predict events and do not replace medical, psychological, legal or financial advice.