Which Years Are Monkey Years?
People born in 1992, 2004, 2016 and 2028 are Monkeys. Earlier Monkey years are 1944, 1956, 1968 and 1980. The Monkey comes around every 12 years.
A Monkey year begins at the Start of Spring (Lichun), around February 4. It is usually a different day from Chinese New Year.
BaZi writes your birth year, month, day and hour as two characters each. The two for the year are your year pillar.
Enter your birth date and hour in the free BaZi calculator. If the second character of your year pillar is 申 (Shen), you are a Monkey. Born before the Start of Spring, your pillar still ends in the previous year's Wei, so you are a Goat.
| Year | Stem-branch | Na Yin | Born between |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2028 | Wu Shen | Great Post-road Earth | Feb 4 – Feb 2 next year |
| 2016 | Bing Shen | Fire Below the Mountain | Feb 4 – Feb 2 next year |
| 2004 | Jia Shen | Water in the Spring | Feb 4 – Feb 3 next year |
| 1992 | Ren Shen | Gold of the Sword Edge | Feb 4 – Feb 3 next year |
| 1980 | Geng Shen | Pomegranate Wood | Feb 5 – Feb 3 next year |
| 1968 | Wu Shen | Great Post-road Earth | Feb 5 – Feb 3 next year |
| 1956 | Bing Shen | Fire Below the Mountain | Feb 5 – Feb 3 next year |
| 1944 | Jia Shen | Water in the Spring | Feb 5 – Feb 3 next year |
Calculate your BaZi chart
Enter your birth details to discover your Day Master, elemental balance, and how these concepts apply to your Four Pillars.
Who Are the Monkey's Allies? Rat, Dragon and Snake
The Monkey's allies are the Rat, Dragon and Snake, and the Rat is the closest. In folk tradition, your allies are the animals that form a trine or a six harmony with yours.
- TrineThree earthly branches form a group. For the Monkey, the other two are the Rat and the Dragon.
- Six HarmonyTwo branches form a pair. The Monkey pairs with the Snake.
The Rat sits in the middle of the group, so a Monkey and a Rat bond even on their own. A Monkey and a Dragon need the Rat between them to bond tightly.
The Snake is a six harmony partner but also a punishment, so that bond comes with friction.
Which Animals Clash with the Monkey? Tiger, Snake and Pig
The Tiger is the Monkey's worst match. Friction with the Snake and Pig is lighter. Clash, punishment and harm all make a poor match, but some weigh more than others.
- ClashSet the twelve animals in a circle, and the two directly opposite collide. This is the heavier kind. The Tiger sits right across from the Monkey.
- PunishmentFriction, each holding the other back. The Tiger, Snake and Monkey punish one another, so the Tiger and the Snake both punish the Monkey.
- HarmThe Pig clashes with the Snake, the Monkey's six harmony partner. So the Pig harms the Monkey.
| Animal | Branch | Relation | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tiger | Yin | Clash and punishment | Heavier |
| Snake | Si | Punishment | Lighter |
| Pig | Hai | Harm | Lighter |
Some books also count the Snake and Monkey as a break, a minor kind of friction. We follow Sanming Tonghui and leave it out, so the Monkey has no break.
What Does the Monkey Face This Year? Tai Sui Years
What you face this year depends on how the year's animal gets on with the Monkey. Tai Sui is the animal of the current year. In a Monkey year, for example, Tai Sui is the Monkey.
The current year is called the annual fortune (Liu Nian). Folk custom compares its animal with yours to see whether you "offend" Tai Sui.
For a Monkey, the twelve-year cycle runs like this:
- MonkeyYour own year
- TigerClash and punishment
- PigHarm
- Rat and DragonHarmony
- SnakeHarmony and punishment
A Monkey year is your own year (Ben Ming Nian).
Tradition weighs your own year and a clash the most. Punishment and harm are lighter, and harmony is seen as a help. A Snake year brings harmony and punishment together, so it cuts both ways.
Offending Tai Sui compares two animals only. It is not a full forecast for your year. For each animal's Tai Sui outlook and tips for the year, see the CNY BaZi Fortune Guide.
Five Monkeys: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water
The five kinds of Monkey are sorted by the heavenly stem of the birth year. Every Monkey year's pillar ends in Shen. What differs is the first character, the stem. Each stem belongs to one element.
For example, 1992 is Ren Shen. Ren is Water, so 1992 is a Water Monkey.
| Type | Year pillar | Birth years |
|---|---|---|
| Wood Monkey | Jia Shen | 1944, 2004 |
| Fire Monkey | Bing Shen | 1956, 2016 |
| Earth Monkey | Wu Shen | 1968, 2028 |
| Metal Monkey | Geng Shen | 1980 |
| Water Monkey | Ren Shen | 1992 |
Some sites sort Monkeys by Na Yin instead. Na Yin is a second set of element names, one for each stem and branch pair.
For 2004, the Na Yin is Water in the Spring, so those sites call it a Water Monkey. By its stem, it is a Wood Monkey.
Monkey Personality: Clever, Versatile, Restless
Monkeys tend to be clever and quick to learn, and they rarely sit still for long. These traits come from Shen's hidden stems.
Each branch hides one to three stems, called hidden stems (Cang Gan). Shen hides three: one metal, one water and one earth. The metal stem, Geng Metal, weighs the most.
The metal is sharp and decisive, so you tend to react fast and want to fix problems yourself. The water flows, bringing ideas and quick adaptation. The earth keeps you steady when it counts.
Tradition also sees Shen as a Sky Horse (Yi Ma), a sign of travel and movement, so you may take to new things more easily. The other side is distraction, with too many things started at once.
Given a hard enough problem, these traits tend to turn into focus and creativity. When the work gets too fiddly, they can turn into impatience and a taste for shortcuts.
Beyond Your Animal: What Else BaZi Reads
Your animal is just one character in your BaZi, so it cannot show the whole picture. It is the branch of your year pillar. Everyone born that year shares it, but the month, day and hour pillars differ.
The character that stands for you is the Day Master, the stem of the day you were born. Your temperament and way of working are read from it, together with the strength of the Five Elements.
Whether a year helps or strains you depends on where its stem and branch land in your chart.
