Sheng Xiao
Glossary · Last updated: 2026-07-26
Sheng Xiao assigns one of twelve animals (Rat through Pig) to each lunar year, often paired with an element color on a ten-year stem cycle.
If you were born in January or early February, your animal may belong to the previous lunar year. Our Chinese calculator and reader use Lunar New Year tables, not the Gregorian calendar alone.
Not the same as Ba Zi Four Pillars
Sheng Xiao here means birth-year animal. Ba Zi (Four Pillars) adds month, day, and hour pillars, a separate, deeper chart on our Ba Zi page.