Cathay Ink › Chinese zodiac › Year of the Ox › 1997
Year of the Ox 1997
The Fire Ox, 丁丑: from Chinese New Year on 7 February 1997 to 27 January 1998.
Steady, patient and dependable. The Ox finishes what it starts and is trusted with what matters; in farming China it was the family's most valuable companion. Fire years favour energy and visibility: bold moves, warm company, the spotlight.
The Fire Ox
Element
Fire years are associated with warmth and drive: summer, lanterns, the hearth. In the sixty-year cycle each animal meets each element once, so the Fire Ox came last in 1937 and returns in 2057. The year's 纳音 (the "sound" of its stem and branch in the old almanacs) is 涧下水.
Company
The Ox shares a trine with the Snake and the Rooster; its secret friend is the Rat. Those signs are said to find a Ox year easiest. The Ox would have won the river race, but carried the Rat across and came second without complaint.
Years of the Ox
Each starts at Chinese New Year.
- 1925Wood Ox, from 24 January 1925
- 1937Fire Ox, from 11 February 1937
- 1949Earth Ox, from 29 January 1949
- 1961Metal Ox, from 15 February 1961
- 1973Water Ox, from 3 February 1973
- 1985Wood Ox, from 20 February 1985
- 1997Fire Ox, from 7 February 1997
- 2009Earth Ox, from 26 January 2009
- 2021Metal Ox, from 12 February 2021
- 2033Water Ox, from 31 January 2033
Questions
When does the Year of the Ox 1997 start and end?
It starts at Chinese New Year, 7 February 1997, and ends on 27 January 1998, the day before the next new year.
What element is the Ox in 1997?
Fire (火), from the heavenly stem 丁. Fire years are associated with warmth and drive: summer, lanterns, the hearth.
Is a baby born in January 1997 a Ox?
No. A baby born before 7 February 1997 belongs to the previous animal, the Rat. The zodiac year follows the lunar calendar, not 1 January.
Which other years were Fire Ox years?
1937. The same stem and branch return every sixty years.
Your Ox in ink
The Ox 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 Ox. All twelve: the zodiac.