Cathay Ink › Chinese zodiac › Year of the Dragon › 1988
Year of the Dragon 1988
The Earth Dragon, 戊辰: from Chinese New Year on 17 February 1988 to 5 February 1989.
Confident, ambitious and generous. The only mythical animal in the cycle, the Dragon brings rain and good harvests; emperors took it as their emblem. Earth years favour steadiness: consolidating, caring for what is already there, the harvest of earlier work.
The Earth Dragon
Element
Earth years are associated with steadiness and care: harvest, soil, the centre. In the sixty-year cycle each animal meets each element once, so the Earth Dragon came last in 1928 and returns in 2048. The year's 纳音 (the "sound" of its stem and branch in the old almanacs) is 大林木.
Company
The Dragon shares a trine with the Rat and the Monkey; its secret friend is the Rooster. Those signs are said to find a Dragon year easiest. Dragon years see a rise in births across the Chinese-speaking world: parents plan for them.
Years of the Dragon
Each starts at Chinese New Year.
- 1928Earth Dragon, from 23 January 1928
- 1940Metal Dragon, from 8 February 1940
- 1952Water Dragon, from 27 January 1952
- 1964Wood Dragon, from 13 February 1964
- 1976Fire Dragon, from 31 January 1976
- 1988Earth Dragon, from 17 February 1988
- 2000Metal Dragon, from 5 February 2000
- 2012Water Dragon, from 23 January 2012
- 2024Wood Dragon, from 10 February 2024
- 2036Fire Dragon, from 28 January 2036
Questions
When does the Year of the Dragon 1988 start and end?
It starts at Chinese New Year, 17 February 1988, and ends on 5 February 1989, the day before the next new year.
What element is the Dragon in 1988?
Earth (土), from the heavenly stem 戊. Earth years are associated with steadiness and care: harvest, soil, the centre.
Is a baby born in January 1988 a Dragon?
No. A baby born before 17 February 1988 belongs to the previous animal, the Rabbit. The zodiac year follows the lunar calendar, not 1 January.
Which other years were Earth Dragon years?
1928. The same stem and branch return every sixty years.
Your Dragon in ink
The Dragon painted in ink wash above your name and lunar birthday.
Make the poster
Enter your birthday; we set the animal, the element, the lunar date and your name, and add a Chinese name as a seal if you have one.
Start with my birthdayMore about the animal: Year of the Dragon. All twelve: the zodiac.