1947 Chinese zodiac sign: Fire Pig

Chinese year 1947 begins on Wednesday, January 22, 1947, and ends on Monday, February 9, 1948, the day before the Year of the Earth Rat begins. It has a full 384 days, because it is a leap year with 13 lunar months; the next one comes in 1949. The Chinese calendar adds the extra month roughly every two or three years so that it doesn't drift away from the seasons.

The year opens with the new moon on Wednesday, January 22, 1947 at 3:34 a.m. ET, which is 4:34 p.m. China Standard Time, so the date is the same in New York and in Beijing.

The Lantern Festival, which closes the New Year celebrations, comes on the fifteenth day of the first month, so on Wednesday, February 5, 1947. The year's first full moon falls on Wednesday, February 5, 1947 at 10:50 a.m. ET.

It is year 24 of the sixty-year cycle that began in 1924 with the Wood Rat. In Chinese this year is called 丁亥 (dīnghài): the heavenly stem 丁 gives the element and the earthly branch 亥 the animal.

In Ba Zi astrology, the Four Pillars of Destiny, the year 1947 begins not at the lunar New Year but at the moment of lìchūn (立春, “start of spring”), when the Sun reaches 315° of ecliptic longitude: on Tuesday, February 4, 1947 at 10:50 a.m. Eastern Time. That is 13 days after Chinese New Year, so anyone born between January 22 and that moment already has the Fire Pig sign in the lunar calendar but still the Fire Dog sign in Ba Zi.

This page and the calculator give your sign by the lunar calendar.

The Pig, called the Boar in some sources, closes the twelve-year cycle. It is the sign of kindness, sincerity and joy in life.

Passion, courage and a need for action. Fire adds temperament and charisma, along with a tendency to flare up.

The Fire element covers two years in a row, 1946 (yang) and 1947 (yin), and comes back every ten years: before that in 1936–1937, next in 1956–1957.

The Fire Pig has the most energy and courage of all the Pigs. Fire adds passion and drive, so it pursues its plans with zeal and knows how to carry people along. It is generous and warm. But it tends to overdo things, and it can spend money faster than it earns it.

In 2026, people born in 1947 turn 79 years old. The Year of the Fire Horse is running now, which tradition counts as a year with no special tie for the Pig. People born in 1947 reach their next běnmìngnián, the year of their own sign, in 2031, when they turn 84 years old.

The Pig comes back every 12 years, each time with a different element. The exact combination of 1947, the Fire Pig, returns every 60 years: in 1887, 1947 and 2007.