The Rat is the branch 子 (Zi (Rat)): yang Water, direction North, the 11th month (beginning at Major Snow), the hour 23:00–01:00. 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.
Generated from engine v0.14.0, not hand-written; years and lichun instants come from the engine's lichun table.
| Animal | Rat 鼠 |
|---|---|
| Branch | 子 Zi (Rat) · position 1 of 12 |
| Polarity & element | yang Water (水) |
| Direction / season | North (北) · Winter |
| Month | 11th month · begins at Major Snow (大雪) |
| Hour | 23:00–01:00 |
| Hidden stems | 癸 Gui Yin Water (main, 水) |
| Six break | 酉 Rooster |
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 Rat" is checkable to the minute.
| Year | Year pillar | Lichun (Beijing time) | Age in 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 庚子 (Geng Zi) | 1960-02-05 03:23 | 67 |
| 1972 | 壬子 (Ren Zi) | 1972-02-05 01:20 | 55 |
| 1984 | 甲子 (Jia Zi) | 1984-02-04 23:18 | 43 |
| 1996 | 丙子 (Bing Zi) | 1996-02-04 21:07 | 31 |
| 2008 | 戊子 (Wu Zi) | 2008-02-04 19:00 | 19 |
| 2020 | 庚子 (Geng Zi) | 2020-02-04 17:03 | 7 |
The next one is 2032 (壬子, Ren Zi), beginning at lichun on 2032-02-04 14:48.
1900 · 1912 · 1924 · 1936 · 1948 · 1960 · 1972 · 1984 · 1996 · 2008 · 2020 · 2032
| This site | The 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 sites | Change 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. |
| Consequence | Someone 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. |
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.
| Year | Year pillar | Relation to the year branch |
|---|---|---|
| 1924 | 甲子 (Jia Zi) | 值太岁 Own year |
| 1927 | 丁卯 (Ding Mao) | 刑太岁 Punishment |
| 1930 | 庚午 (Geng Wu) | 冲太岁 Clash |
| 1931 | 辛未 (Xin Wei) | 害太岁 Harm |
| 1933 | 癸酉 (Gui You) | 破太岁 Break |
| 1936 | 丙子 (Bing Zi) | 值太岁 Own year |
| 1939 | 己卯 (Ji Mao) | 刑太岁 Punishment |
| 1942 | 壬午 (Ren Wu) | 冲太岁 Clash |
| 1943 | 癸未 (Gui Wei) | 害太岁 Harm |
| 1945 | 乙酉 (Yi You) | 破太岁 Break |
| 1948 | 戊子 (Wu Zi) | 值太岁 Own year |
| 1951 | 辛卯 (Xin Mao) | 刑太岁 Punishment |
| 1954 | 甲午 (Jia Wu) | 冲太岁 Clash |
| 1955 | 乙未 (Yi Wei) | 害太岁 Harm |
| 1957 | 丁酉 (Ding You) | 破太岁 Break |
| 1960 | 庚子 (Geng Zi) | 值太岁 Own year |
| 1963 | 癸卯 (Gui Mao) | 刑太岁 Punishment |
| 1966 | 丙午 (Bing Wu) | 冲太岁 Clash |
| 1967 | 丁未 (Ding Wei) | 害太岁 Harm |
| 1969 | 己酉 (Ji You) | 破太岁 Break |
| 1972 | 壬子 (Ren Zi) | 值太岁 Own year |
| 1975 | 乙卯 (Yi Mao) | 刑太岁 Punishment |
| 1978 | 戊午 (Wu Wu) | 冲太岁 Clash |
| 1979 | 己未 (Ji Wei) | 害太岁 Harm |
| 1981 | 辛酉 (Xin You) | 破太岁 Break |
| 1984 | 甲子 (Jia Zi) | 值太岁 Own year |
| 1987 | 丁卯 (Ding Mao) | 刑太岁 Punishment |
| 1990 | 庚午 (Geng Wu) | 冲太岁 Clash |
| 1991 | 辛未 (Xin Wei) | 害太岁 Harm |
| 1993 | 癸酉 (Gui You) | 破太岁 Break |
| 1996 | 丙子 (Bing Zi) | 值太岁 Own year |
| 1999 | 己卯 (Ji Mao) | 刑太岁 Punishment |
| 2002 | 壬午 (Ren Wu) | 冲太岁 Clash |
| 2003 | 癸未 (Gui Wei) | 害太岁 Harm |
| 2005 | 乙酉 (Yi You) | 破太岁 Break |
| 2008 | 戊子 (Wu Zi) | 值太岁 Own year |
| 2011 | 辛卯 (Xin Mao) | 刑太岁 Punishment |
| 2014 | 甲午 (Jia Wu) | 冲太岁 Clash |
| 2015 | 乙未 (Yi Wei) | 害太岁 Harm |
| 2017 | 丁酉 (Ding You) | 破太岁 Break |
| 2020 | 庚子 (Geng Zi) | 值太岁 Own year |
| 2023 | 癸卯 (Gui Mao) | 刑太岁 Punishment |
| 2026 | 丙午 (Bing Wu) | 冲太岁 Clash |
| 2027 | 丁未 (Ding Wei) | 害太岁 Harm |
| 2029 | 己酉 (Ji You) | 破太岁 Break |
| 2032 | 壬子 (Ren Zi) | 值太岁 Own year |
| 2035 | 乙卯 (Yi Mao) | 刑太岁 Punishment |
| 2038 | 戊午 (Wu Wu) | 冲太岁 Clash |
| 2039 | 己未 (Ji Wei) | 害太岁 Harm |
| 2041 | 辛酉 (Xin You) | 破太岁 Break |
All seven relations are fixed tables and every one can be checked against the index page.
| Six harmony | 丑 Ox — combines into Earth |
|---|---|
| Clash | 午 Horse |
| Harm | 未 Goat |
| Break | 酉 Rooster |
| Punishment | Punishment of Discourtesy: 卯 Rabbit |
| Trine | Water: 申 Monkey 子 Rat 辰 Dragon |
| Meeting | North Water: 亥 Pig 子 Rat 丑 Ox |
Break is one of the traditional fixed tables, structurally the same kind of statement as harm or clash. It is printed from the table with no fortune reading attached.
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.
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.