CALENDAR FOUNDATIONS
A lunisolar calendar
Chinese calendar months follow lunar phases while the year stays aligned with seasons.
Go deeper: the full reference
What it means
Months begin around new moons, and an additional month is inserted in some years to keep the calendar near the solar seasons. The displayed lunar date is a calendar conversion, not an astronomical chart of the birth moment.
An example
Two Gregorian dates in different years can share the same lunar month and day, while a leap month may repeat a month number.
A question to carry with you
How does a calendar change the way you mark a year?
Find your own lunar-year placement
Use your birth date to find the year animal, stem, branch, stem phase and Yin/Yang. This calculator follows Chinese New Year; it does not calculate a full Four Pillars (BaZi) chart.
Connect the ideas
The Lunar New Year boundary
This calculator changes the year placement on the first day of the first lunar month.
1 min readThe sixty-year stem-branch cycle
Ten Heavenly Stems pair in order with twelve Earthly Branches to form sixty year names.
1 min readAn intercalary lunar month
Some lunar years repeat a month number to keep the calendar in seasonal alignment.
1 min readLunar New Year and Li Chun are different boundaries
Some Four Pillars traditions use the solar term Li Chun for the year pillar.
1 min read