Chinese zodiac · Year of the Pig
The Metal Pig: 1971, 2031, 2091
辛亥 · Xin hài · Yin Metal stem on the Water branch
A Metal Pig year pairs the Heavenly Stem 辛 (Xin, yin Metal) with the Earthly Branch 亥 (hài, the Pig). The pair recurs every sixty years, so in the range AsterNym covers the Metal Pig years are 1971, 2031, 2091. The animal is the same each time; the stem is what makes a Metal Pig different from a Wood Pig or a Fire Pig. The popular zodiac begins each of these years at Lunar New Year and BaZi begins it at Li Chun, so both boundaries are given below for every year.
What a Metal Pig is like
Popular Chinese zodiac tradition. For reflection, not prediction.
The Metal Pig is the most determined and the most outspoken, sincerity with a backbone.
1971 Metal Pigs are the determined, outspoken ones, sincerity with a backbone, and the tradition reads the Metal stem on the Water branch as the Pig hardest to take advantage of.
In BaZi terms the Metal stem feeds the Water branch: Metal produces Water in the generating cycle. Practitioners read the year as the stem spending itself on the branch, so the Pig's qualities are well supported from above while the stem itself is drained. A generous year for the animal, at some cost to the element on top.
The rest of the Pig’s character, in love, at work and the growing edge, is on the Year of the Pig page.
Metal Pig years and when each begins
The popular zodiac year begins at Lunar New Year; BaZi begins it at Li Chun, the start of spring. Both dates are given so a birth between them can be placed in either system.
| Year | Lunar New Year (popular zodiac) | Ends | Li Chun (BaZi) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 27 January 1971 | 14 February 1972 | 4 February 1971 |
| 2031 | 23 January 2031 | 10 February 2032 | 4 February 2031 |
| 2091 | outside the table | … | 3 February 2091 |
The next Metal Pig year is 2031. Check any birthday against the boundary with the finder.
Famous Metal Pigs
Public birth records, assigned by the Lunar New Year boundary.
Common questions
- When does the Year of the Metal Pig start?
- The 1971 Metal Pig year began at Lunar New Year on 27 January 1971 and ran to 14 February 1972. The 2031 Metal Pig year began at Lunar New Year on 23 January 2031 and ran to 10 February 2032. 2091 is outside AsterNym's Lunar New Year table. BaZi turns the year at Li Chun instead (1971: 4 February 1971; 2031: 4 February 2031; 2091: 3 February 2091), so a birth between the two dates carries different year animals in the two systems.
- What is a Metal Pig personality?
- The Metal Pig is the most determined and the most outspoken, sincerity with a backbone. In BaZi terms the Metal stem feeds the Water branch: Metal produces Water in the generating cycle. Practitioners read the year as the stem spending itself on the branch, so the Pig's qualities are well supported from above while the stem itself is drained. A generous year for the animal, at some cost to the element on top.
- When is the next Metal Pig year?
- 2031. The pair of stem 辛 and branch 亥 recurs every sixty years.