1936 Chinese Zodiac: Fire Rat

01 / Check the boundary

What is my Chinese zodiac if I was born in 1936?

Two zodiac signs fall within the Gregorian year 1936. Choose the row containing your birthday. These dates include both the first and last day; the animal changes at Chinese New Year, not on January 1.

1936 birth dates and zodiac signs
Gregorian birthday	Animal & year element
January 1, 1936 – January 23, 1936	Wood Pig 猪
January 24, 1936 – December 31, 1936	Fire Rat 鼠

The full 1936 lunar year continues into 1937, through February 10, 1937. A birthday on January 23, 1936 belongs to the Pig; a birthday one day later, on January 24, 1936, belongs to the Rat.

YOUR STORY STARTS HERE

When were you born?

02 / The story of the year

What kind of Rat is 1936?

1936 is a Fire Rat year. Its stem-branch name is 丙子 (bǐng-zǐ): the heavenly stem 丙 carries yang fire, and the earthly branch 子 corresponds to the Rat.

Zodiac animal: Rat · 鼠
Year element: Fire
Stem & branch: 丙子 · bǐng-zǐ
Lunar year length: 384 days

Rat personality in tradition

The Rat begins the twelve-animal cycle. Folklore often associates it with quick thinking and adaptability.

The phrase “resourceful & observant” describes a traditional association with this animal, rather than a rule about everyone born in 1936. The year element is one part of the calendar; it does not establish a person's complete five-elements or Bāzì chart.

我属鼠。

Wǒ shǔ shǔ. “I was born in the Year of the Rat.”

Rat compatibility in folklore

Rat, Dragon and Monkey form a traditional harmony group of three. Horse sits opposite Rat, six places away in the twelve-animal cycle. These describe symbolic positions, not evidence of who will make a good partner.

Explore traditional pairings →

03 / A closer look at the dates

1936 lunar calendar at a glance

This Rat year contains 13 lunar months and 384 days. Month 3 repeats as a leap month, starting April 21, 1936. A leap month keeps the same animal and year element. The table follows the full lunar year, so its final months extend into 1937.

Lunar months of 1936: Gregorian start and end dates
Lunar month	Begins	Ends	Days
Month 1	January 24, 1936	February 22, 1936	30
Month 2	February 23, 1936	March 22, 1936	29
Month 3	March 23, 1936	April 20, 1936	29
Leap month 3	April 21, 1936	May 20, 1936	30
Month 4	May 21, 1936	June 18, 1936	29
Month 5	June 19, 1936	July 17, 1936	29
Month 6	July 18, 1936	August 16, 1936	30
Month 7	August 17, 1936	September 15, 1936	30
Month 8	September 16, 1936	October 14, 1936	29
Month 9	October 15, 1936	November 13, 1936	30
Month 10	November 14, 1936	December 13, 1936	30
Month 11	December 14, 1936	January 12, 1937	30
Month 12	January 13, 1937	February 10, 1937	29

04 / Follow the cycle

Other Years of the Rat

The Rat returns every 12 years; the same Fire Rat combination returns every 60. These are the other Rat years in our 1901–2100 directory. Their New Year dates differ, so open a year to check its exact birthday boundary.

1912Water Rat 1924Wood Rat 1948Earth Rat 1960Metal Rat 1972Water Rat 1984Wood Rat 1996Fire Rat 2008Earth Rat 2020Metal Rat 2032Water Rat 2044Wood Rat 2056Fire Rat 2068Earth Rat 2080Metal Rat 2092Water Rat

Sources & calendar convention

Dates are calculated from our local lunar-month dataset. The links below provide the Observatory’s calendar for this Gregorian year and an explanation of the stem-branch cycle. Cultural interpretations are introductory folklore, not predictions.