1971 Chinese zodiac sign: Metal Pig

Chinese year 1971 begins on Wednesday, January 27, 1971, and ends on Monday, February 14, 1972, the day before the Year of the Water Rat begins. It has a full 384 days, because it is a leap year with 13 lunar months; the next one comes in 1974. 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 Tuesday, January 26, 1971 at 5:55 p.m. ET. In Beijing it is already January 27, 6:55 a.m. China Standard Time, and the Beijing date sets New Year's Day, so the new year begins on January 27.

The Lantern Festival, which closes the New Year celebrations, comes on the fifteenth day of the first month, so on Wednesday, February 10, 1971. The year's first full moon falls on Wednesday, February 10, 1971 at 2:42 a.m. ET. The total lunar eclipse takes place at this same full moon.

It is year 48 of the sixty-year cycle that began in 1924 with the Wood Rat. In Chinese this year is called 辛亥 (xīnhài): the heavenly stem 辛 gives the element and the earthly branch 亥 the animal.

In Ba Zi astrology, the Four Pillars of Destiny, the year 1971 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 Thursday, February 4, 1971 at 6:26 a.m. Eastern Time. That is 8 days after Chinese New Year, so anyone born between January 27 and that moment already has the Metal Pig sign in the lunar calendar but still the Metal 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.

Determination, principles and a clear goal. Metal tempers a sign: it adds willpower, but can make it unbending.

The Metal element covers two years in a row, 1970 (yang) and 1971 (yin), and comes back every ten years: before that in 1960–1961, next in 1980–1981.

Metal gives the Pig strength. The Metal Pig is more determined and ambitious than other Pigs, doesn't let itself be used and can fight for what it wants. It stays loyal and sincere. Its weakness is stubbornness and difficulty accepting criticism, even when it is fair.

In 2026, people born in 1971 turn 55 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 1971 reach their next běnmìngnián, the year of their own sign, in 2031, when they turn 60 years old.

The Pig comes back every 12 years, each time with a different element. The exact combination of 1971, the Metal Pig, returns every 60 years: in 1911, 1971 and 2031.