Rat strengths in tradition
- Quick-witted and alert
- Resourceful with what is at hand
- Adapts easily to change
- Sociable and charming
1948 Chinese zodiac: Year of the Earth Rat
The 1948 Chinese year ran from Tuesday 10 February 1948 to Friday 28 January 1949.
Its sign is the Yang Earth Rat: 戊子 (Wù-zǐ) in the 60-year cycle.
Born 1 January – 9 February 1948? Then you belong to the previous Chinese year: the Fire Pig of 1947.
Chinese New Year or Lichun?
Most calendars change the animal at Chinese New Year. Four Pillars (BaZi) astrology starts the year at Lichun, the Start of Spring, instead. For births around the turn of the year the two counts differ:
- 5 February 1948 (Lichun day): by Lichun, Fire Pig before 05:42 China time and Earth Rat from then on; by Chinese New Year, Fire Pig.
- 6–9 February 1948: Fire Pig by Chinese New Year, Earth Rat by Lichun.
Dates and times in China time. The Chinese zodiac calculator converts them for your birthplace and shows both counts.
The Earth Rat in Chinese astrology
An Earth Rat is described as steadier and more practical, careful with plans and loyal to familiar people and places.
The Rat is the first of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals, associated in tradition with quick wits, resourcefulness and an eye for opportunity. Earth is the element of stability and balance, linked in Chinese tradition with the turning points between the seasons.
Rat challenges in tradition
- Restless when things slow down
- Holds on tightly to resources
- Tends to overthink risks
- May put cleverness before candour
Traditions, not predictions. The Rat in love and at work · The five elements
Other Rat years
The Earth Rat every 60 years
Questions and answers
What Chinese zodiac is 1948?
1948 is the Year of the Earth Rat (yang Earth, 戊子 Wù-zǐ), from 10 February 1948 to 28 January 1949. Anyone born 1 January – 9 February 1948 belongs to the previous Chinese year, the Fire Pig.
What element is 1948 in the Chinese zodiac?
Earth, in its yang form: the year’s Heavenly Stem is 戊 (Wù). Earth years are years ending in 8 or 9 – counted by the Chinese year, which begins in late January or February.
I was born in January or early February 1948 — which animal am I?
If you were born before 10 February 1948, the date of Chinese New Year, your sign is the Fire Pig of the 1947 Chinese year; from 10 February 1948 on, it is the Earth Rat. Four Pillars (BaZi) astrology counts from Lichun instead (5 February 1948, 05:42 China time).
When was Chinese New Year 1948?
It was on Tuesday 10 February 1948 (China time). The next one, on Saturday 29 January 1949, began the Year of the Earth Ox.