Chinese zodiac · Year of the Tiger
The Metal Tiger: 1950, 2010, 2070
庚寅 · Geng yín · Yang Metal stem on the Wood branch
A Metal Tiger year pairs the Heavenly Stem 庚 (Geng, yang Metal) with the Earthly Branch 寅 (yín, the Tiger). The pair recurs every sixty years, so in the range AsterNym covers the Metal Tiger years are 1950, 2010, 2070. The animal is the same each time; the stem is what makes a Metal Tiger different from a Wood Tiger or a Fire Tiger. 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 Tiger is like
Popular Chinese zodiac tradition. For reflection, not prediction.
The Metal Tiger is fiercely independent and competitive, with a will that does not much care who is in the way.
2010 Metal Tigers were born into a world of smartphones and austerity, and the tradition's fiercely independent Tiger suits a generation that expects to make its own way.
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 Tiger's nature is disciplined, sometimes frustrated, and channelled rather than let loose. Tension with a purpose.
The rest of the Tiger’s character, in love, at work and the growing edge, is on the Year of the Tiger page.
Metal Tiger 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 17 February 1950 | 5 February 1951 | 4 February 1950 |
| 2010 | 14 February 2010 | 2 February 2011 | 4 February 2010 |
| 2070 | outside the table | … | 3 February 2070 |
The next Metal Tiger year is 2070. Check any birthday against the boundary with the finder.
Famous Metal Tigers
Public birth records, assigned by the Lunar New Year boundary.
Born in 1950
- Narendra ModiPrime Minister of India since 2014
- Stevie WonderAmerican and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, composer and record producer
- Richard BransonBritish business magnate
- Néstor KirchnerPresident of Argentina from 2003 to 2007
- Helen ClarkPrime Minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008
- Lakshmi MittalIndian steel magnate
Common questions
- When does the Year of the Metal Tiger start?
- The 1950 Metal Tiger year began at Lunar New Year on 17 February 1950 and ran to 5 February 1951. The 2010 Metal Tiger year began at Lunar New Year on 14 February 2010 and ran to 2 February 2011. 2070 is outside AsterNym's Lunar New Year table. BaZi turns the year at Li Chun instead (1950: 4 February 1950; 2010: 4 February 2010; 2070: 3 February 2070), so a birth between the two dates carries different year animals in the two systems.
- What is a Metal Tiger personality?
- The Metal Tiger is fiercely independent and competitive, with a will that does not much care who is in the way. 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 Tiger's nature is disciplined, sometimes frustrated, and channelled rather than let loose. Tension with a purpose.
- When is the next Metal Tiger year?
- 2070. The pair of stem 庚 and branch 寅 recurs every sixty years.