Monkey strengths in tradition
- Clever and inventive
- Curious and quick to learn
- Playful and good company
- Versatile problem-solver
2016 Chinese zodiac: Year of the Fire Monkey
The 2016 Chinese year ran from Monday 8 February 2016 to Friday 27 January 2017.
Its sign is the Yang Fire Monkey: 丙申 (Bǐng-shēn) in the 60-year cycle.
Born 1 January – 7 February 2016? Then you belong to the previous Chinese year: the Wood Goat of 2015.
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 2016 (Lichun day): by Lichun, Wood Goat before 17:45 China time and Fire Monkey from then on; by Chinese New Year, Wood Goat.
- 5–7 February 2016: Wood Goat by Chinese New Year, Fire Monkey by Lichun.
Dates and times in China time. The Chinese zodiac calculator converts them for your birthplace and shows both counts.
The Fire Monkey in Chinese astrology
A Fire Monkey is traditionally the most energetic and competitive Monkey – confident, daring and full of plans.
The Monkey is the ninth Chinese zodiac animal, associated in tradition with cleverness, curiosity and a playful, inventive mind. Fire is the element of warmth and energy, linked in Chinese tradition with summer, passion and outward expression.
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 Fire Monkey every 60 years
← 2015 Wood Goat · 2017 Fire Rooster → · All years 1900–2100
Questions and answers
What Chinese zodiac is 2016?
2016 is the Year of the Fire Monkey (yang Fire, 丙申 Bǐng-shēn), from 8 February 2016 to 27 January 2017. Anyone born 1 January – 7 February 2016 belongs to the previous Chinese year, the Wood Goat.
What element is 2016 in the Chinese zodiac?
Fire, in its yang form: the year’s Heavenly Stem is 丙 (Bǐng). Fire years are years ending in 6 or 7 – counted by the Chinese year, which begins in late January or February.
I was born in January or early February 2016 — which animal am I?
If you were born before 8 February 2016, the date of Chinese New Year, your sign is the Wood Goat of the 2015 Chinese year; from 8 February 2016 on, it is the Fire Monkey. Four Pillars (BaZi) astrology counts from Lichun instead (4 February 2016, 17:45 China time).
When was Chinese New Year 2016?
It was on Monday 8 February 2016 (China time). The next one, on Saturday 28 January 2017, began the Year of the Fire Rooster.