Rooster strengths in tradition
- Hardworking and punctual
- Observant and precise
- Honest and straightforward
- Organised and well prepared
1981 Chinese zodiac: Year of the Metal Rooster
The 1981 Chinese year ran from Thursday 5 February 1981 to Sunday 24 January 1982.
Its sign is the Yin Metal Rooster: 辛酉 (Xīn-yǒu) in the 60-year cycle.
Born 1 January – 4 February 1981? Then you belong to the previous Chinese year: the Metal Monkey of 1980.
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:
- 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 Rooster in Chinese astrology
Metal is the Rooster's own fixed element, so a Metal Rooster is said to be the most determined and precise Rooster, principled and hardworking.
The Rooster is the tenth Chinese zodiac animal, associated in tradition with confidence, hard work and a sharp eye for detail. Metal is the element of clarity and strength, linked in Chinese tradition with autumn, precision and determination.
Rooster challenges in tradition
- Can be blunt
- Leans towards perfectionism
- Quick to criticise
- Proud and hard to persuade
Traditions, not predictions. The Rooster in love and at work · The five elements
Other Rooster years
The Metal Rooster every 60 years
← 1980 Metal Monkey · 1982 Water Dog → · All years 1900–2100
Questions and answers
What Chinese zodiac is 1981?
1981 is the Year of the Metal Rooster (yin Metal, 辛酉 Xīn-yǒu), from 5 February 1981 to 24 January 1982. Anyone born 1 January – 4 February 1981 belongs to the previous Chinese year, the Metal Monkey.
What element is 1981 in the Chinese zodiac?
Metal, in its yin form: the year’s Heavenly Stem is 辛 (Xīn). 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 1981 — which animal am I?
If you were born before 5 February 1981, the date of Chinese New Year, your sign is the Metal Monkey of the 1980 Chinese year; from 5 February 1981 on, it is the Metal Rooster. Four Pillars (BaZi) astrology counts from Lichun instead (4 February 1981, 05:55 China time).
When was Chinese New Year 1981?
It was on Thursday 5 February 1981 (China time). The next one, on Monday 25 January 1982, began the Year of the Water Dog.