Chinese New Year
31 January 1957Rooster from this lunar-calendar boundary.
Jade
Observatory
16 September 2026
Ding You · 丁酉
1957 is the year of the Fire Rooster, from 31 Jan 1957 – 17 Feb 1958. A 1957 birth before 31 Jan 1957 belongs to the previous Fire Monkey year.
The year's complete signature
The Fire year stem and the Rooster's fixed Metal branch are different coordinates. Their element dynamic is Fire controls Metal. In the Five Phases cycle, Fire regulates Metal.
The complete 丁酉 pillar carries Na Yin 山下火, a Fire classification.
One year, two boundary conventions
Rooster from this lunar-calendar boundary.
Rooster from this solar-term boundary.
Between the two boundaries, Chinese New Year assigns Rooster; Li Chun assigns Monkey. On 4 February 1957, the solar answer changes at 4 February 1957 at 09:54 UTC+8.
The moving New Year boundary
Chinese New Year 1957 fell on 31 January 1957. Anyone born between 1 January 1957 and 30 January 1957 — a window of 30 days — belongs to the 1956 zodiac year, the Yang Fire Monkey, and not to the Rooster.
Check an exact birth date against the 31 January 1957 boundary.
The 1957 lunar year carried leap month 8, stretching it to 383 days.
The Gregorian year's solar clock
These are the calculated seasonal markers from January through December1957, shown in China Standard Time (UTC+8). Jie terms open solar months; qi terms fall between them.
The Tiger, Rabbit, and Dragon branch months form the spring meeting. Start of Spring opens it; the Spring Equinox is its midpoint.
Opens traditional spring and the Tiger solar month. Four Pillars calendars also use this instant as their change of astrological year.
Names the early-spring turn toward rain and moisture. It is the Qi midpoint of the Tiger solar month.
Evokes hibernating life stirring as spring advances. This Jie opens the Rabbit solar month.
The equinox at the middle of traditional spring, when day and night are close to equal in length.
Names the clear, bright interval of later spring. This Jie opens the Dragon solar month and also names the Qingming observance.
The final spring term, named for rains associated with the growth of grain. It is the Qi midpoint of Dragon month.
The Snake, Horse, and Goat branch months form the summer meeting. Start of Summer opens it; the Summer Solstice is its midpoint.
Opens traditional summer and the Snake solar month, before the June solstice rather than on it.
Describes grain beginning to fill without yet being fully ripe. It is the Qi midpoint of Snake month.
Names the time of awned grains in the seasonal sequence. This Jie opens the Horse solar month.
The June solstice and midpoint of traditional summer, with the longest daylight of the Northern Hemisphere year.
Introduces the hotter part of the traditional calendar. This Jie opens the Goat solar month.
The closing term of traditional summer, named for the season's strongest heat and placed at the midpoint of Goat month.
The Monkey, Rooster, and Dog branch months form the autumn meeting. Start of Autumn opens it; the Autumn Equinox is its midpoint.
Opens traditional autumn and the Monkey solar month, well before the September equinox.
Its name marks summer heat beginning to withdraw. It is the Qi midpoint of Monkey month.
Evokes the more visible dew of cooler early-autumn nights. This Jie opens the Rooster solar month.
The equinox at the middle of traditional autumn, when day and night are close to equal in length.
Names the deepening chill signalled by cold dew. This Jie opens the Dog solar month.
The final autumn term, named for the arrival of frost in the traditional seasonal vocabulary and placed at the midpoint of Dog month.
The Pig, Rat, and Ox branch months form the winter meeting. Start of Winter opens it; the Winter Solstice is its midpoint. In a Gregorian-year record, its January terms appear before the four markers in November and December.
Begins the final solar month of winter. This Jie opens the Ox month near the start of January.
The twenty-fourth term closes the traditional winter sequence before Start of Spring begins it again.
Opens traditional winter and the Pig solar month, before the December solstice rather than on it.
Introduces snow imagery into the winter sequence. It is the Qi midpoint of Pig month, not a promise of local snowfall.
Names a deeper-cold stage in the traditional calendar. This Jie opens the Rat solar month.
The December solstice and midpoint of traditional winter, with the shortest daylight of the Northern Hemisphere year.
The repeating earthly branch
The Rooster branch repeats every twelve years. Across five returns, the year stem moves through all five elements; the exact Yin Fire Rooster signature comes back after sixty years.
Each point is twelve years apart. Element names describe the changing heavenly stem; the animal branch remains Rooster. Open a year or complete name for its full record.
The exact pairing 丁酉 — Yin Fire Rooster — returns only once every sixty years: 2017, 2077. Open the complete Rooster year history →