1937 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Fire Ox (丁丑)
丁丑 Ding Chou · Yin Fire over the Ox's Earth branch · number 14 of 60
1937 was a 丁丑 (Ding Chou) year — the 14th of the sixty stem-and-branch combinations, and in everyday English a Fire Ox year. The element in that name comes from the heavenly stem 丁 (Yin Fire); the branch 丑, the Ox itself, carries Earth whatever the stem above it says. Its na yin, the older sixty-part scheme, reads 涧下水 — a Water na yin.
The 1937 zodiac year did not start on 1 January. It started at Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1937, 13:25 (Beijing time, UTC+8), and ran until the instant before Lichun 1938, 4 Feb 1938, 19:14 (Beijing time, UTC+8). Chinese New Year 1937 fell on 11 February 1937, a separate boundary that festivals use; between the two dates the popular and the classical conventions disagree. Anyone born in January or early February 1937 should check the table below before claiming a sign.
1937 is one of 9 Ox years between 1924 and 2027, and one of 2 Fire Ox years in that span (1937 and 1997), because stem and branch only line up again after sixty years: the same 丁丑 pillar last stood in 1877 and returns in 1997.
Which sign a 1937 birthday belongs to
| Born between (Beijing time) | Stem and branch | Sign | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January 1937, 00:00 → 4 February 1937, 13:25 | 丙子 | Fire Rat | Still the Rat year that opened in 1936. |
| 4 February 1937, 13:25 → 31 December 1937, 23:59 | 丁丑 | Fire Ox | The Ox year proper; it runs on past 31 December until Lichun 1938. |
Born on 1 January 1937? That is a Rat, not a Ox: the Fire Rat year 丙子 ran on until 4 February 1937 at 13:25 Beijing time.
Lichun is an astronomical instant, not a date: in 1937 it fell at 13:25 Beijing time (UTC+8). The instant itself starts the Ox year, so a birth at 13:25 on that day is already a Ox. 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 丁丑 pillar
| 1937 | |
|---|---|
| Stem and branch | 丁丑 (Ding Chou) |
| Place in the sixty-year cycle | 14 of 60 |
| Heavenly stem | 丁 — Yin Fire 火 |
| Earthly branch | 丑 — the Ox 牛, fixed element Earth 土 |
| Na yin (纳音) | 涧下水 — a Water na yin |
| Lichun (start of the zodiac year) | 4 Feb 1937, 13:25 (Beijing time, UTC+8) |
| Chinese New Year | 11 February 1937 |
| Same pillar last seen / next seen | 1877 / 1997 |
Ten stems and twelve branches only return to the same pairing after sixty years, so 丁丑 belongs to 1877, 1937 and 1997 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 Ox
Fire Ox (Ding Chou) warms the frozen branch. Yin Fire over Earth is the producing relationship, and the classical reading is warmth added to reliability: an Ox with a public face, better at persuading and more comfortable being liked. Ding is candlelight rather than bonfire, so the descriptions emphasise steady visibility — the dependable person everyone knows — rather than showmanship.
| Variant | Stem and branch | Ox years 1924–2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Wood Ox | 乙丑 | 1925, 1985 |
| Fire Ox | 丁丑 | 1937, 1997 |
| Earth Ox | 己丑 | 1949, 2009 |
| Metal Ox | 辛丑 | 1961, 2021 |
| Water Ox | 癸丑 | 1973 |
Every Ox year from 1924 to 2027
- 1925Wood Ox
- 1937Fire Ox · this page
- 1949Earth Ox
- 1961Metal Ox
- 1973Water Ox
- 1985Wood Ox
- 1997Fire Ox
- 2009Earth Ox
- 2021Metal Ox
Born in 1937: the 2027 Goat year
| Ox born 1937 | |
|---|---|
| Age at Lichun 2027 | 89–90 |
| Nominal age 虚岁 | 91 |
| Relationship with the 2027 Tai Sui | Clash 冲太岁 + Punishment 刑太岁 |
| Traditional reading | Challenging — a major Tai Sui affliction |
| Ben Ming Nian 本命年 | No — 2027 is a Goat year |
| Lucky element for the year | Water · black, blue · 1, 6 · North |
At Lichun 2027 someone born in 1937 is 89 if their birthday has not yet come round and 90 if it has. The nominal age (虚岁), counted as one at birth and raised at each Chinese New Year, is 91 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 Ox in 2027. For the part of the sign that does not move with the year, see the Ox profile.
Frequently asked questions
- Someone born in January 1937 — Rat or Ox?
- Rat. The Ox year did not begin until Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1937, 13:25 (Beijing time, UTC+8), so every birthday from 1 January up to that instant still belongs to the Fire Rat year 丙子. Chinese New Year 1937 fell on 11 February 1937, 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 1937 a Fire Ox or an Earth Ox?
- Fire Ox, and both labels are describing something real. The element in the popular name comes from the year's heavenly stem, which for 1937 is 丁 — Yin Fire. The Earth belongs to the branch 丑, the Ox's own fixed element, and it does not change from one Ox year to the next. So 1937 is a Fire stem sitting over an earth branch; its na yin, a third system again, is 涧下水.
- How old is someone born in 1937 in 2027?
- 89–90 by the ordinary count at Lichun 2027, and 91 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. 1937 is one of 9 Ox years between 1924 and 2027; in 2027 all of them stand in the same relationship to the Tai Sui — Clash 冲太岁 + Punishment 刑太岁 — but each is a different age.