Chinese zodiac · Year of the Rabbit
The Metal Rabbit: 1951, 2011, 2071
辛卯 · Xin mǎo · Yin Metal stem on the Wood branch
A Metal Rabbit year pairs the Heavenly Stem 辛 (Xin, yin Metal) with the Earthly Branch 卯 (mǎo, the Rabbit). The pair recurs every sixty years, so in the range AsterNym covers the Metal Rabbit years are 1951, 2011, 2071. The animal is the same each time; the stem is what makes a Metal Rabbit different from a Wood Rabbit or a Fire Rabbit. 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 Rabbit is like
Popular Chinese zodiac tradition. For reflection, not prediction.
The Metal Rabbit is the most resilient, elegant and reserved, with a firmness underneath that surprises people.
The Metal Rabbit of 2011 is the most resilient of the five, and the tradition's elegant, reserved Rabbit with steel underneath fits a year of uprisings and a tsunami.
In BaZi terms the Metal stem controls the Wood branch: Metal restrains Wood in the controlling cycle. Practitioners read the year as the element on top holding the animal in check, so the Rabbit's nature is disciplined, sometimes frustrated, and channelled rather than let loose. Tension with a purpose.
The rest of the Rabbit’s character, in love, at work and the growing edge, is on the Year of the Rabbit page.
Metal Rabbit 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | 6 February 1951 | 26 January 1952 | 4 February 1951 |
| 2011 | 3 February 2011 | 22 January 2012 | 4 February 2011 |
| 2071 | outside the table | … | 4 February 2071 |
The next Metal Rabbit year is 2071. Check any birthday against the boundary with the finder.
Famous Metal Rabbits
Public birth records, assigned by the Lunar New Year boundary.
Common questions
- When does the Year of the Metal Rabbit start?
- The 1951 Metal Rabbit year began at Lunar New Year on 6 February 1951 and ran to 26 January 1952. The 2011 Metal Rabbit year began at Lunar New Year on 3 February 2011 and ran to 22 January 2012. 2071 is outside AsterNym's Lunar New Year table. BaZi turns the year at Li Chun instead (1951: 4 February 1951; 2011: 4 February 2011; 2071: 4 February 2071), so a birth between the two dates carries different year animals in the two systems.
- What is a Metal Rabbit personality?
- The Metal Rabbit is the most resilient, elegant and reserved, with a firmness underneath that surprises people. In BaZi terms the Metal stem controls the Wood branch: Metal restrains Wood in the controlling cycle. Practitioners read the year as the element on top holding the animal in check, so the Rabbit's nature is disciplined, sometimes frustrated, and channelled rather than let loose. Tension with a purpose.
- When is the next Metal Rabbit year?
- 2071. The pair of stem 辛 and branch 卯 recurs every sixty years.