Monkey strengths in tradition
- Clever and inventive
- Curious and quick to learn
- Playful and good company
- Versatile problem-solver
1980 Chinese zodiac: Year of the Metal Monkey
The 1980 Chinese year ran from Saturday 16 February 1980 to Wednesday 4 February 1981.
Its sign is the Yang Metal Monkey: 庚申 (Gēng-shēn) in the 60-year cycle.
Born 1 January – 15 February 1980? Then you belong to the previous Chinese year: the Earth Goat of 1979.
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 1980 (Lichun day): by Lichun, Earth Goat before 00:09 China time and Metal Monkey from then on; by Chinese New Year, Earth Goat.
- 6–15 February 1980: Earth Goat by Chinese New Year, Metal Monkey by Lichun.
- 4 February 1981 (Lichun day): by Lichun, Metal Monkey before 05:55 China time and Metal Rooster from then on; by Chinese New Year, Metal Monkey.
Dates and times in China time. The Chinese zodiac calculator converts them for your birthplace and shows both counts.
The Metal Monkey in Chinese astrology
Metal is the Monkey's own fixed element, so a Metal Monkey is said to be the sharpest and most independent Monkey, ambitious and self-reliant.
The Monkey is the ninth Chinese zodiac animal, associated in tradition with cleverness, curiosity and a playful, inventive mind. Metal is the element of clarity and strength, linked in Chinese tradition with autumn, precision and determination.
Monkey challenges in tradition
- Easily bored
- Can be mischievous
- Overconfident at times
- Restless and hard to pin down
Traditions, not predictions. The Monkey in love and at work · The five elements
Other Monkey years
The Metal Monkey every 60 years
← 1979 Earth Goat · 1981 Metal Rooster → · All years 1900–2100
Questions and answers
What Chinese zodiac is 1980?
1980 is the Year of the Metal Monkey (yang Metal, 庚申 Gēng-shēn), from 16 February 1980 to 4 February 1981. Anyone born 1 January – 15 February 1980 belongs to the previous Chinese year, the Earth Goat.
What element is 1980 in the Chinese zodiac?
Metal, in its yang form: the year’s Heavenly Stem is 庚 (Gēng). Metal years are years ending in 0 or 1 – counted by the Chinese year, which begins in late January or February.
I was born in January or early February 1980 — which animal am I?
If you were born before 16 February 1980, the date of Chinese New Year, your sign is the Earth Goat of the 1979 Chinese year; from 16 February 1980 on, it is the Metal Monkey. Four Pillars (BaZi) astrology counts from Lichun instead (5 February 1980, 00:09 China time).
When was Chinese New Year 1980?
It was on Saturday 16 February 1980 (China time). The next one, on Thursday 5 February 1981, began the Year of the Metal Rooster.