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Zodiac 9 of 12 · Monkey (申)

The Monkey (申) — yang Metal, years 1908 to 2040

The Monkey is the branch 申 (Shen (Monkey)): yang Metal, direction Southwest, the 7th month (beginning at Start of Autumn), the hour 15:00–17:00. This page is that branch's calendar view — which Gregorian years belong to it, the minute each one begins, and which animals stand in a defined relation to it. For the branch as a position inside a chart — hidden stems, the ten-stem stage table, the five pillars containing it — see the branch page.

Computed facts (engine-verified)

Generated from engine v0.14.0, not hand-written; years and lichun instants come from the engine's lichun table.

AnimalMonkey 猴
Branch Shen (Monkey) · position 9 of 12
Polarity & elementyang Metal (金)
Direction / seasonSouthwest (西南) · Autumn
Month7th month · begins at Start of Autumn (立秋)
Hour15:00–17:00
Hidden stems Geng Yang Metal (main, 金); Ren Yang Water (middle, 水); Wu Yang Earth (residual, 土)
Six break Snake — note: this pair is also a six-harmony, see the convention note below

The years that belong to this animal

Each animal recurs twelve times across 144 years, once every twelve. The table gives the most recent cycles with the year pillar and the exact lichun instant (Beijing time) at which each year begins — so "after which date is someone born a Monkey" is checkable to the minute.

YearYear pillarLichun (Beijing time)Age in 2027
1956丙申 (Bing Shen)1956-02-05 04:1171
1968戊申 (Wu Shen)1968-02-05 02:0759
1980庚申 (Geng Shen)1980-02-05 00:0947
1992壬申 (Ren Shen)1992-02-04 21:4835
2004甲申 (Jia Shen)2004-02-04 19:5623
2016丙申 (Bing Shen)2016-02-04 17:4611

The next one is 2028 (戊申, Wu Shen), beginning at lichun on 2028-02-04 15:31.

Every year, 1900–2043

1908 · 1920 · 1932 · 1944 · 1956 · 1968 · 1980 · 1992 · 2004 · 2016 · 2028 · 2040

The year turns at lichun, not at New Year

This siteThe year pillar and the animal change at the instant of lichun, the moment the sun reaches 315° of ecliptic longitude. It falls on 3–5 February and is known to the minute.
Most zodiac sitesChange the animal at the lunar new year (the second new moon after the winter solstice). The two conventions disagree for anyone born between 1 January and lichun, and again between lichun and the lunar new year.
ConsequenceSomeone born before lichun on 2026-02-04 still carries the previous year's pillar. If your birthday falls in January or February, use the exact instant rather than the year.

The years this animal offends the year branch

Fan tai sui ("offending the year") is one of five fixed table relations between an animal and the year branch — own year, clash, punishment, harm, break — and they can stack. This site computes them from those tables, does not read them as fortune, and sells no remedy. Every year between 1924 and 2043 is listed below.

YearYear pillarRelation to the year branch
1926丙寅 (Bing Yin)冲太岁 Clash + 刑太岁 Punishment
1929己巳 (Ji Si)破太岁 Break + 刑太岁 Punishment
1932壬申 (Ren Shen)值太岁 Own year
1935乙亥 (Yi Hai)害太岁 Harm
1938戊寅 (Wu Yin)冲太岁 Clash + 刑太岁 Punishment
1941辛巳 (Xin Si)破太岁 Break + 刑太岁 Punishment
1944甲申 (Jia Shen)值太岁 Own year
1947丁亥 (Ding Hai)害太岁 Harm
1950庚寅 (Geng Yin)冲太岁 Clash + 刑太岁 Punishment
1953癸巳 (Gui Si)破太岁 Break + 刑太岁 Punishment
1956丙申 (Bing Shen)值太岁 Own year
1959己亥 (Ji Hai)害太岁 Harm
1962壬寅 (Ren Yin)冲太岁 Clash + 刑太岁 Punishment
1965乙巳 (Yi Si)破太岁 Break + 刑太岁 Punishment
1968戊申 (Wu Shen)值太岁 Own year
1971辛亥 (Xin Hai)害太岁 Harm
1974甲寅 (Jia Yin)冲太岁 Clash + 刑太岁 Punishment
1977丁巳 (Ding Si)破太岁 Break + 刑太岁 Punishment
1980庚申 (Geng Shen)值太岁 Own year
1983癸亥 (Gui Hai)害太岁 Harm
1986丙寅 (Bing Yin)冲太岁 Clash + 刑太岁 Punishment
1989己巳 (Ji Si)破太岁 Break + 刑太岁 Punishment
1992壬申 (Ren Shen)值太岁 Own year
1995乙亥 (Yi Hai)害太岁 Harm
1998戊寅 (Wu Yin)冲太岁 Clash + 刑太岁 Punishment
2001辛巳 (Xin Si)破太岁 Break + 刑太岁 Punishment
2004甲申 (Jia Shen)值太岁 Own year
2007丁亥 (Ding Hai)害太岁 Harm
2010庚寅 (Geng Yin)冲太岁 Clash + 刑太岁 Punishment
2013癸巳 (Gui Si)破太岁 Break + 刑太岁 Punishment
2016丙申 (Bing Shen)值太岁 Own year
2019己亥 (Ji Hai)害太岁 Harm
2022壬寅 (Ren Yin)冲太岁 Clash + 刑太岁 Punishment
2025乙巳 (Yi Si)破太岁 Break + 刑太岁 Punishment
2028戊申 (Wu Shen)值太岁 Own year
2031辛亥 (Xin Hai)害太岁 Harm
2034甲寅 (Jia Yin)冲太岁 Clash + 刑太岁 Punishment
2037丁巳 (Ding Si)破太岁 Break + 刑太岁 Punishment
2040庚申 (Geng Shen)值太岁 Own year
2043癸亥 (Gui Hai)害太岁 Harm

How this animal relates to the others

All seven relations are fixed tables and every one can be checked against the index page.

Six harmony Snake — combines into Water
Clash Tiger
Harm Pig
Break Snake
PunishmentPunishment of Arrogance: Tiger, Snake
TrineWater: Monkey Rat Dragon
MeetingWest Metal: Monkey Rooster Dog

The break partner shown above is also this animal's six-harmony partner. The traditional six-break table overlaps the harmony table on these four branches (Yin-Hai and Si-Shen), and schools disagree on whether a pair that already combines should also be read as breaking. This site does not choose for you: both are printed from their tables, and the divergence is stated here.

This animal as a position

The animal and the branch are one character used two ways: as an animal it governs years, as a branch it governs positions. The hidden stems, month, hour, ten-stem stage table and the five pillars containing it are all on the branch page.

Open the Monkey (申) branch page →

See how the Monkey relates to 2027 (Ding Wei) →

What this page deliberately does not do. The zodiac is the one part of this system that the popular market has turned into a horoscope: a fixed personality per animal, a fortune per year, and a lucky charm sold to fix the year that clashes with yours. This site publishes none of that. What is here is a calendar relation: which Gregorian years belong to this animal, the exact minute each of those years begins, and which animal-branches stand in a defined relation to it. Those relations are fixed tables — the same six-harmony, clash, harm and break tables used everywhere else on this site — and not one of them carries a fortune score. In particular, "offending the year" (fan tai sui) is a structural fact, not a curse, and this site sells no remedy for it.

Frequently asked

Which years are Monkey years?
1908, 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028, 2040. Each animal recurs every twelve years, counted from that year's lichun. The most recent is 2016 (丙申, Bing Shen), with lichun at 2016-02-04 17:46.
What if I was born around lichun?
The animal changes at the instant of lichun. In 2026, lichun falls at 2026-02-04 04:02; born before that instant and your year pillar still belongs to 2025. The two conventions (lichun versus lunar new year) disagree for January and early-February birthdays. This site uses lichun.
Which years does the Monkey offend the year branch?
Between 1924 and 2043 there are 40: 1926 (Clash + Punishment); 1929 (Break + Punishment); 1932 (Own year); 1935 (Harm); 1938 (Clash + Punishment); 1941 (Break + Punishment); 1944 (Own year); 1947 (Harm); 1950 (Clash + Punishment); 1953 (Break + Punishment); 1956 (Own year); 1959 (Harm); 1962 (Clash + Punishment); 1965 (Break + Punishment); 1968 (Own year); 1971 (Harm); 1974 (Clash + Punishment); 1977 (Break + Punishment); 1980 (Own year); 1983 (Harm); 1986 (Clash + Punishment); 1989 (Break + Punishment); 1992 (Own year); 1995 (Harm); 1998 (Clash + Punishment); 2001 (Break + Punishment); 2004 (Own year); 2007 (Harm); 2010 (Clash + Punishment); 2013 (Break + Punishment); 2016 (Own year); 2019 (Harm); 2022 (Clash + Punishment); 2025 (Break + Punishment); 2028 (Own year); 2031 (Harm); 2034 (Clash + Punishment); 2037 (Break + Punishment); 2040 (Own year); 2043 (Harm).
What is the Monkey personality?
This site does not assign a personality to an animal. The animal is the everyday name of a year branch — a structural position (yang Metal, hidden stems Geng + Ren + Wu) rather than a character label. The same animal reads differently under a different month command and inside a whole chart; any source that fixes a character to an animal is claiming more than the system does.

Nearby animals

Goat ←  ·  → Rooster

Reference index

Every enumerable component of ba zi has its own page here. Each page is computed by the same engine and can be checked item by item — none of it is a personality table.