The 12 animals
Year of the Monkey: years, dates and elements
The Monkey is the ninth animal, the sign of the Shen branch. Its years with exact dates, the next one in 2028, and the lore of the sign.
Were you born in a year of the Monkey?
Born July 1, 2004
Wood Monkey
| Stem-branch | Jia-Shen 甲申, yang |
| Lunar birth date | day 14 of the 5th month, 2004 |
| That lunar year: January 22, 2004 to February 8, 2005 | |
The Monkey is the ninth animal of the zodiac and the sign of Shen, the ninth earthly branch, a Metal branch on the yang side. The next Monkey year, an Earth Monkey, begins on January 26, 2028 and runs to February 12, 2029. The previous ones were the Fire Monkey of February 8, 2016 to January 27, 2017 and the Wood Monkey that began on January 22, 2004. The Hong Kong Observatory uses the Monkey as its own example of how the cycle works: Ren-Shen, Jia-Shen, Bing-Shen, Wu-Shen and Geng-Shen are all years of the monkey, because they share the Shen branch. In folklore the Monkey is the trickster, and Sun Wukong, the Monkey King of the novel Journey to the West, is the most famous character of Chinese fiction. Popular portraits of Monkey people as clever and playful are tradition, nothing more.
How does tradition pair these two signs?
Monkey and Rat
Triad (san he)
| Monkey triad | Rat, Dragon |
| Monkey opposite | Tiger |
Folk tradition, not a prediction.
Dates read in the HKO tables by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Shen: the afternoon and the seventh month
The Shen branch names the double hour from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and the seventh lunar month, which opens autumn with the Autumn Commences term in early August. The seventh month is also the ghost month in Chinese custom, when offerings are made to wandering spirits, but that belongs to the month, not to the Monkey sign.
The five Monkey years of a sixty-year cycle follow the five stems that can pair with Shen, all yang: Jia (Wood), Bing (Fire), Wu (Earth), Geng (Metal) and Ren (Water). The Observatory's example lists exactly these. In the twentieth century they fell in 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968 and 1980.
Born in a year of this animal?
Monkey and a birth in 2028
Yes, from Jan 26, 2028
| Born Jan 26, 2028 or later | Earth Monkey |
| Born before Jan 26, 2028 | Fire Goat |
| Next Monkey year | 2028 |
The Monkey King
Journey to the West, written in the sixteenth century, tells how a stone monkey becomes a rebel immortal, is imprisoned under a mountain, and then escorts a monk to India in search of scriptures. The tale gives the Monkey sign its playful, rebellious image in popular culture, from opera to video games.
Monkey pairings in tradition
Folk tradition sets the Monkey in a triad with the Rat and the Dragon, pairs it in harmony with the Snake, and places the Tiger opposite. As everywhere on this site, these are customs drawn from the branch circle, not forecasts.
The Monkey at a glance
| Earthly branch | Shen 申, number 9 of 12 |
| Fixed element of the branch | Metal, yang |
| Double hour (shichen) | 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. |
| Lunar month named by the branch | 7th month |
| Triad (san he) | Rat, Dragon |
| Harmony pair (liu he) | Snake |
| Opposite sign (liu chong) | Tiger |
| Harm pair (liu hai) | Pig |
| Next year of the Monkey | 2028, from January 26, 2028 |
Every year of the Monkey, with exact dates
Each line is one lunar year, from its new year to the eve of the next. Over sixty years the Monkey comes back five times, once with each element: Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal. A birth before the start date in that Gregorian year belongs to the Goat.
| Year | Sign | Stem-branch | Starts | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | Water Monkey | Ren-Shen 壬申 | Feb 6, 1932 | Jan 25, 1933 |
| 1944 | Wood Monkey | Jia-Shen 甲申 | Jan 25, 1944 | Feb 12, 1945 |
| 1956 | Fire Monkey | Bing-Shen 丙申 | Feb 12, 1956 | Jan 30, 1957 |
| 1968 | Earth Monkey | Wu-Shen 戊申 | Jan 30, 1968 | Feb 16, 1969 |
| 1980 | Metal Monkey | Geng-Shen 庚申 | Feb 16, 1980 | Feb 4, 1981 |
| 1992 | Water Monkey | Ren-Shen 壬申 | Feb 4, 1992 | Jan 22, 1993 |
| 2004 | Wood Monkey | Jia-Shen 甲申 | Jan 22, 2004 | Feb 8, 2005 |
| 2016 | Fire Monkey | Bing-Shen 丙申 | Feb 8, 2016 | Jan 27, 2017 |
| 2028 | Earth Monkey | Wu-Shen 戊申 | Jan 26, 2028 | Feb 12, 2029 |
| 2040 | Metal Monkey | Geng-Shen 庚申 | Feb 12, 2040 | Jan 31, 2041 |