Chinese zodiac · Year of the Rat
The Wood Rat: 1924, 1984, 2044
甲子 · Jia zǐ · Yang Wood stem on the Water branch
A Wood Rat year pairs the Heavenly Stem 甲 (Jia, yang Wood) with the Earthly Branch 子 (zǐ, the Rat). The pair recurs every sixty years, so in the range AsterNym covers the Wood Rat years are 1924, 1984, 2044. The animal is the same each time; the stem is what makes a Wood Rat different from a Fire Rat or a Earth 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 Wood Rat is like
Popular Chinese zodiac tradition. For reflection, not prediction.
The Wood Rat is the most principled of the five: ambitious, cooperative and inclined to build the team rather than beat it.
1984 is the Wood Rat most people know: the year the personal computer went mainstream, which suits a sign the tradition reads as the first to spot an opening.
In BaZi terms the Water branch feeds the Wood stem: Water produces Wood in the generating cycle. Practitioners read the year as the Rat giving its strength upward, so the stem element is well resourced and the animal's own qualities are somewhat spent in the giving. Productive, and a little tiring for the Rat.
The rest of the Rat’s character, in love, at work and the growing edge, is on the Year of the Rat page.
Wood 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | 5 February 1924 | 23 January 1925 | 5 February 1924 |
| 1984 | 2 February 1984 | 19 February 1985 | 4 February 1984 |
| 2044 | 30 January 2044 | 16 February 2045 | 4 February 2044 |
The next Wood Rat year is 2044. Check any birthday against the boundary with the finder.
Famous Wood Rats
Public birth records, assigned by the Lunar New Year boundary.
Born in 1924
Common questions
- When does the Year of the Wood Rat start?
- The 1924 Wood Rat year began at Lunar New Year on 5 February 1924 and ran to 23 January 1925. The 1984 Wood Rat year began at Lunar New Year on 2 February 1984 and ran to 19 February 1985. The 2044 Wood Rat year began at Lunar New Year on 30 January 2044 and ran to 16 February 2045. BaZi turns the year at Li Chun instead (1924: 5 February 1924; 1984: 4 February 1984; 2044: 4 February 2044), so a birth between the two dates carries different year animals in the two systems.
- What is a Wood Rat personality?
- The Wood Rat is the most principled of the five: ambitious, cooperative and inclined to build the team rather than beat it. In BaZi terms the Water branch feeds the Wood stem: Water produces Wood in the generating cycle. Practitioners read the year as the Rat giving its strength upward, so the stem element is well resourced and the animal's own qualities are somewhat spent in the giving. Productive, and a little tiring for the Rat.
- When is the next Wood Rat year?
- 2044. The pair of stem 甲 and branch 子 recurs every sixty years.