Chinese zodiac · Year of the Rat
The Metal Rat: 1960, 2020, 2080
庚子 · Geng zǐ · Yang Metal stem on the Water branch
A Metal Rat year pairs the Heavenly Stem 庚 (Geng, yang Metal) with the Earthly Branch 子 (zǐ, the Rat). The pair recurs every sixty years, so in the range AsterNym covers the Metal Rat years are 1960, 2020, 2080. The animal is the same each time; the stem is what makes a Metal Rat different from a Wood Rat or a Fire Rat. 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 Rat is like
Popular Chinese zodiac tradition. For reflection, not prediction.
The Metal Rat is decisive and stylish, with sharp tastes and a sharper tongue, and a talent for turning charm into results.
Metal Rats, 1960 and 2020, bookend a lot: the 2020 year opened with a pandemic, and the tradition's decisive, sharp-tongued Rat had a great deal to decide.
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 Rat'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 Rat’s character, in love, at work and the growing edge, is on the Year of the Rat page.
Metal Rat 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 28 January 1960 | 14 February 1961 | 5 February 1960 |
| 2020 | 25 January 2020 | 11 February 2021 | 4 February 2020 |
| 2080 | outside the table | … | 4 February 2080 |
The next Metal Rat year is 2080. Check any birthday against the boundary with the finder.
Famous Metal Rats
Public birth records, assigned by the Lunar New Year boundary.
Common questions
- When does the Year of the Metal Rat start?
- The 1960 Metal Rat year began at Lunar New Year on 28 January 1960 and ran to 14 February 1961. The 2020 Metal Rat year began at Lunar New Year on 25 January 2020 and ran to 11 February 2021. 2080 is outside AsterNym's Lunar New Year table. BaZi turns the year at Li Chun instead (1960: 5 February 1960; 2020: 4 February 2020; 2080: 4 February 2080), so a birth between the two dates carries different year animals in the two systems.
- What is a Metal Rat personality?
- The Metal Rat is decisive and stylish, with sharp tastes and a sharper tongue, and a talent for turning charm into results. 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 Rat'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 Rat year?
- 2080. The pair of stem 庚 and branch 子 recurs every sixty years.