1926 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Fire Tiger (丙寅)
丙寅 Bing Yin · Yang Fire over the Tiger's Wood branch · number 3 of 60
1926 was a 丙寅 (Bing Yin) year — the 3rd of the sixty stem-and-branch combinations, and in everyday English a Fire Tiger year. The element in that name comes from the heavenly stem 丙 (Yang Fire); the branch 寅, the Tiger itself, carries Wood whatever the stem above it says. Its na yin, the older sixty-part scheme, reads 炉中火 — a Fire na yin.
The 1926 zodiac year did not start on 1 January. It started at Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1926, 21:38 (Beijing time, UTC+8), and ran until the instant before Lichun 1927, 5 Feb 1927, 03:30 (Beijing time, UTC+8). Chinese New Year 1926 fell on 13 February 1926, a separate boundary that festivals use; between the two dates the popular and the classical conventions disagree. Anyone born in January or early February 1926 should check the table below before claiming a sign.
1926 is one of 9 Tiger years between 1924 and 2027, and one of 2 Fire Tiger years in that span (1926 and 1986), because stem and branch only line up again after sixty years: the same 丙寅 pillar last stood in 1866 and returns in 1986.
Which sign a 1926 birthday belongs to
| Born between (Beijing time) | Stem and branch | Sign | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January 1926, 00:00 → 4 February 1926, 21:38 | 乙丑 | Wood Ox | Still the Ox year that opened in 1925. |
| 4 February 1926, 21:38 → 31 December 1926, 23:59 | 丙寅 | Fire Tiger | The Tiger year proper; it runs on past 31 December until Lichun 1927. |
Born on 1 January 1926? That is a Ox, not a Tiger: the Wood Ox year 乙丑 ran on until 4 February 1926 at 21:38 Beijing time.
Lichun is an astronomical instant, not a date: in 1926 it fell at 21:38 Beijing time (UTC+8). The instant itself starts the Tiger year, so a birth at 21:38 on that day is already a Tiger. Convert your own birth moment to Beijing time first — a birth in the Americas on the previous evening can already be past Lichun in Beijing. Check an exact birth date and time.
The 丙寅 pillar
| 1926 | |
|---|---|
| Stem and branch | 丙寅 (Bing Yin) |
| Place in the sixty-year cycle | 3 of 60 |
| Heavenly stem | 丙 — Yang Fire 火 |
| Earthly branch | 寅 — the Tiger 虎, fixed element Wood 木 |
| Na yin (纳音) | 炉中火 — a Fire na yin |
| Lichun (start of the zodiac year) | 4 Feb 1926, 21:38 (Beijing time, UTC+8) |
| Chinese New Year | 13 February 1926 |
| Same pillar last seen / next seen | 1866 / 1986 |
Ten stems and twelve branches only return to the same pairing after sixty years, so 丙寅 belongs to 1866, 1926 and 1986 and to no year in between. That is why a sixtieth birthday is traditionally marked: it is the year the whole pillar comes back.
The Fire Tiger
Fire Tiger (Bing Yin) draws the hidden Fire out of the branch, since Yin already stores Bing. Stem and hidden stem agreeing is read as amplification: the most outgoing and the most conspicuous of the five, quick to inspire and quick to burn through goodwill. Traditional advice for this variant is about the recovery period after the effort, which the sign is said to skip.
| Variant | Stem and branch | Tiger years 1924–2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Wood Tiger | 甲寅 | 1974 |
| Fire Tiger | 丙寅 | 1926, 1986 |
| Earth Tiger | 戊寅 | 1938, 1998 |
| Metal Tiger | 庚寅 | 1950, 2010 |
| Water Tiger | 壬寅 | 1962, 2022 |
Every Tiger year from 1924 to 2027
- 1926Fire Tiger · this page
- 1938Earth Tiger
- 1950Metal Tiger
- 1962Water Tiger
- 1974Wood Tiger
- 1986Fire Tiger
- 1998Earth Tiger
- 2010Metal Tiger
- 2022Water Tiger
Born in 1926: the 2027 Goat year
| Tiger born 1926 | |
|---|---|
| Age at Lichun 2027 | 100–101 |
| Nominal age 虚岁 | 102 |
| Relationship with the 2027 Tai Sui | None |
| Traditional reading | Steady — no direct relationship with the Tai Sui |
| Ben Ming Nian 本命年 | No — 2027 is a Goat year |
| Lucky element for the year | Wood · green, teal · 3, 8 · East |
At Lichun 2027 someone born in 1926 is 100 if their birthday has not yet come round and 101 if it has. The nominal age (虚岁), counted as one at birth and raised at each Chinese New Year, is 102 once New Year 2027 has passed.
The full reading — the month-by-month table, the five-element relationship with the year stem and the traditional remedies — is on Tiger in 2027. For the part of the sign that does not move with the year, see the Tiger profile.
Frequently asked questions
- Someone born in January 1926 — Ox or Tiger?
- Ox. The Tiger year did not begin until Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1926, 21:38 (Beijing time, UTC+8), so every birthday from 1 January up to that instant still belongs to the Wood Ox year 乙丑. Chinese New Year 1926 fell on 13 February 1926, which is a different boundary again; classical chart work uses Lichun. Convert your birth moment to Beijing time before comparing it, because the Chinese calendar is defined on that meridian.
- Is 1926 a Fire Tiger or a Wood Tiger?
- Fire Tiger, and both labels are describing something real. The element in the popular name comes from the year's heavenly stem, which for 1926 is 丙 — Yang Fire. The Wood belongs to the branch 寅, the Tiger's own fixed element, and it does not change from one Tiger year to the next. So 1926 is a Fire stem sitting over a wood branch; its na yin, a third system again, is 炉中火.
- How old is someone born in 1926 in 2027?
- 100–101 by the ordinary count at Lichun 2027, and 102 by the nominal count (虚岁) that starts at one and rises at each Chinese New Year. The two answers differ because the ordinary count waits for the birthday and the nominal one does not. 1926 is one of 9 Tiger years between 1924 and 2027; in 2027 all of them stand in the same relationship to the Tai Sui — None — but each is a different age.