Someone born in January 1957 — Monkey or Rooster?

Monkey. The Rooster year did not begin until Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1957, 09:54 (Beijing time, UTC+8), so every birthday from 1 January up to that instant still belongs to the Fire Monkey year 丙申. Chinese New Year 1957 fell on 31 January 1957, 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 1957 a Fire Rooster or a Metal Rooster?

Fire Rooster, and both labels are describing something real. The element in the popular name comes from the year's heavenly stem, which for 1957 is 丁 — Yin Fire. The Metal belongs to the branch 酉, the Rooster's own fixed element, and it does not change from one Rooster year to the next. So 1957 is a Fire stem sitting over a metal branch; its na yin, a third system again, is 山下火.

How old is someone born in 1957 in 2027?

69–70 by the ordinary count at Lichun 2027, and 71 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. 1957 is one of 8 Rooster 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.

1957 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Fire Rooster (丁酉)

丁酉 Ding You · Yin Fire over the Rooster's Metal branch · number 34 of 60

1957 was a 丁酉 (Ding You) year — the 34th of the sixty stem-and-branch combinations, and in everyday English a Fire Rooster year. The element in that name comes from the heavenly stem 丁 (Yin Fire); the branch 酉, the Rooster itself, carries Metal whatever the stem above it says. Its na yin, the older sixty-part scheme, reads 山下火 — a Fire na yin.

The 1957 zodiac year did not start on 1 January. It started at Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1957, 09:54 (Beijing time, UTC+8), and ran until the instant before Lichun 1958, 4 Feb 1958, 15:49 (Beijing time, UTC+8). Chinese New Year 1957 fell on 31 January 1957, a separate boundary that festivals use; between the two dates the popular and the classical conventions disagree. Anyone born in January or early February 1957 should check the table below before claiming a sign.

1957 is one of 8 Rooster years between 1924 and 2027, and one of 2 Fire Rooster years in that span (1957 and 2017), because stem and branch only line up again after sixty years: the same 丁酉 pillar last stood in 1897 and returns in 2017.

Which sign a 1957 birthday belongs to

Two rows, one boundary: the zodiac year turns at Lichun, not at midnight on 1 January and not at Chinese New Year.
Born between (Beijing time)	Stem and branch	Sign	Why
1 January 1957, 00:00 → 4 February 1957, 09:54	丙申	Fire Monkey	Still the Monkey year that opened in 1956.
4 February 1957, 09:54 → 31 December 1957, 23:59	丁酉	Fire Rooster	The Rooster year proper; it runs on past 31 December until Lichun 1958.

Born on 1 January 1957? That is a Monkey, not a Rooster: the Fire Monkey year 丙申 ran on until 4 February 1957 at 09:54 Beijing time.

Lichun is an astronomical instant, not a date: in 1957 it fell at 09:54 Beijing time (UTC+8). The instant itself starts the Rooster year, so a birth at 09:54 on that day is already a Rooster. 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 丁酉 pillar

Every row is computed: the stem and branch from the Lichun boundary, the na yin from the sixty-cycle table, both dates from the Chinese calendar itself.
	1957
Stem and branch	丁酉 (Ding You)
Place in the sixty-year cycle	34 of 60
Heavenly stem	丁 — Yin Fire 火
Earthly branch	酉 — the Rooster 鸡, fixed element Metal 金
Na yin (纳音)	山下火 — a Fire na yin
Lichun (start of the zodiac year)	4 Feb 1957, 09:54 (Beijing time, UTC+8)
Chinese New Year	31 January 1957
Same pillar last seen / next seen	1897 / 2017

Ten stems and twelve branches only return to the same pairing after sixty years, so 丁酉 belongs to 1897, 1957 and 2017 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 Rooster

Fire Rooster (Ding You) sets yin Fire over refined Metal, the controlling relationship, and the classical image is the goldsmith's flame — heat used deliberately to shape something valuable. The variant is read as the most expressive: performance, advocacy, argument made elegant. The caution is that the flame is applied to people as readily as to work.

Five stems above one branch: the animal returns every twelve years, the exact pillar only every sixty, so the five variants are not evenly spread across any span shorter than that.
Variant	Stem and branch	Rooster years 1924–2027
Wood Rooster	乙酉	1945, 2005
Fire Rooster	丁酉	1957, 2017
Earth Rooster	己酉	1969
Metal Rooster	辛酉	1981
Water Rooster	癸酉	1933, 1993

Every Rooster year from 1924 to 2027

Born in 1957: the 2027 Goat year

The Tai Sui relationship and the lucky element belong to the sign, not to the birth year, so every Goat year on this site reads the same here; the ages do not.
	Rooster born 1957
Age at Lichun 2027	69–70
Nominal age 虚岁	71
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	Water · black, blue · 1, 6 · North

At Lichun 2027 someone born in 1957 is 69 if their birthday has not yet come round and 70 if it has. The nominal age (虚岁), counted as one at birth and raised at each Chinese New Year, is 71 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 Rooster in 2027. For the part of the sign that does not move with the year, see the Rooster profile.

Frequently asked questions

Someone born in January 1957 — Monkey or Rooster?: Monkey. The Rooster year did not begin until Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1957, 09:54 (Beijing time, UTC+8), so every birthday from 1 January up to that instant still belongs to the Fire Monkey year 丙申. Chinese New Year 1957 fell on 31 January 1957, 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 1957 a Fire Rooster or a Metal Rooster?: Fire Rooster, and both labels are describing something real. The element in the popular name comes from the year's heavenly stem, which for 1957 is 丁 — Yin Fire. The Metal belongs to the branch 酉, the Rooster's own fixed element, and it does not change from one Rooster year to the next. So 1957 is a Fire stem sitting over a metal branch; its na yin, a third system again, is 山下火.
How old is someone born in 1957 in 2027?: 69–70 by the ordinary count at Lichun 2027, and 71 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. 1957 is one of 8 Rooster 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.