Someone born in January 1968 — Goat or Monkey?

Goat. The Monkey year did not begin until Lichun (立春), 5 Feb 1968, 02:07 (Beijing time, UTC+8), so every birthday from 1 January up to that instant still belongs to the Fire Goat year 丁未. Chinese New Year 1968 fell on 30 January 1968, 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 1968 an Earth Monkey or a Metal Monkey?

Earth Monkey, and both labels are describing something real. The element in the popular name comes from the year's heavenly stem, which for 1968 is 戊 — Yang Earth. The Metal belongs to the branch 申, the Monkey's own fixed element, and it does not change from one Monkey year to the next. So 1968 is an Earth stem sitting over a metal branch; its na yin, a third system again, is 大驿土.

How old is someone born in 1968 in 2027?

58–59 by the ordinary count at Lichun 2027, and 60 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. 1968 is one of 8 Monkey 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.

1968 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Earth Monkey (戊申)

戊申 Wu Shen · Yang Earth over the Monkey's Metal branch · number 45 of 60

1968 was a 戊申 (Wu Shen) year — the 45th of the sixty stem-and-branch combinations, and in everyday English a Earth Monkey year. The element in that name comes from the heavenly stem 戊 (Yang Earth); the branch 申, the Monkey itself, carries Metal whatever the stem above it says. Its na yin, the older sixty-part scheme, reads 大驿土 — an Earth na yin.

The 1968 zodiac year did not start on 1 January. It started at Lichun (立春), 5 Feb 1968, 02:07 (Beijing time, UTC+8), and ran until the instant before Lichun 1969, 4 Feb 1969, 07:58 (Beijing time, UTC+8). Chinese New Year 1968 fell on 30 January 1968, a separate boundary that festivals use; between the two dates the popular and the classical conventions disagree. Anyone born in January or early February 1968 should check the table below before claiming a sign.

1968 is one of 8 Monkey years between 1924 and 2027, and the only Earth Monkey year in that span, because stem and branch only line up again after sixty years: the same 戊申 pillar last stood in 1908 and returns in 2028.

Which sign a 1968 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 1968, 00:00 → 5 February 1968, 02:07	丁未	Fire Goat	Still the Goat year that opened in 1967.
5 February 1968, 02:07 → 31 December 1968, 23:59	戊申	Earth Monkey	The Monkey year proper; it runs on past 31 December until Lichun 1969.

Born on 1 January 1968? That is a Goat, not a Monkey: the Fire Goat year 丁未 ran on until 5 February 1968 at 02:07 Beijing time.

Lichun is an astronomical instant, not a date: in 1968 it fell at 02:07 Beijing time (UTC+8). The instant itself starts the Monkey year, so a birth at 02:07 on that day is already a Monkey. 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 戊申 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.
	1968
Stem and branch	戊申 (Wu Shen)
Place in the sixty-year cycle	45 of 60
Heavenly stem	戊 — Yang Earth 土
Earthly branch	申 — the Monkey 猴, fixed element Metal 金
Na yin (纳音)	大驿土 — an Earth na yin
Lichun (start of the zodiac year)	5 Feb 1968, 02:07 (Beijing time, UTC+8)
Chinese New Year	30 January 1968
Same pillar last seen / next seen	1908 / 2028

Ten stems and twelve branches only return to the same pairing after sixty years, so 戊申 belongs to 1908, 1968 and 2028 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 Earth Monkey

Earth Monkey (Wu Shen) has Earth producing Metal, the resource relationship, and is read as the Monkey with foundations: the same speed applied inside an institution, with the patience to build rather than only to solve. It is the variant most associated with long careers and with property. The caution is that comfort dulls the edge the sign is valued for.

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	Monkey years 1924–2027
Wood Monkey	甲申	1944, 2004
Fire Monkey	丙申	1956, 2016
Earth Monkey	戊申	1968
Metal Monkey	庚申	1980
Water Monkey	壬申	1932, 1992

Every Monkey year from 1924 to 2027

Born in 1968: 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.
	Monkey born 1968
Age at Lichun 2027	58–59
Nominal age 虚岁	60
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 1968 is 58 if their birthday has not yet come round and 59 if it has. The nominal age (虚岁), counted as one at birth and raised at each Chinese New Year, is 60 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 Monkey in 2027. For the part of the sign that does not move with the year, see the Monkey profile.

Frequently asked questions

Someone born in January 1968 — Goat or Monkey?: Goat. The Monkey year did not begin until Lichun (立春), 5 Feb 1968, 02:07 (Beijing time, UTC+8), so every birthday from 1 January up to that instant still belongs to the Fire Goat year 丁未. Chinese New Year 1968 fell on 30 January 1968, 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 1968 an Earth Monkey or a Metal Monkey?: Earth Monkey, and both labels are describing something real. The element in the popular name comes from the year's heavenly stem, which for 1968 is 戊 — Yang Earth. The Metal belongs to the branch 申, the Monkey's own fixed element, and it does not change from one Monkey year to the next. So 1968 is an Earth stem sitting over a metal branch; its na yin, a third system again, is 大驿土.
How old is someone born in 1968 in 2027?: 58–59 by the ordinary count at Lichun 2027, and 60 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. 1968 is one of 8 Monkey 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.