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1987 Chinese zodiac: Year of the Rabbit
1987 is the year of the Fire Rabbit, 丁卯: from Chinese New Year on 29 January 1987 to 16 February 1988.
Gentle, tactful and perceptive. The Rabbit prefers harmony to confrontation and tends to be the one everyone confides in. Fire years favour energy and visibility: bold moves, warm company, the spotlight.
The Fire Rabbit
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 Rabbit came last in 1927 and returns in 2047. The year's 纳音 (the "sound" of its stem and branch in the old almanacs) is 炉中火.
Company
The Rabbit shares a trine with the Goat and the Pig; its secret friend is the Dog. Those signs are said to find a Rabbit year easiest. The Jade Rabbit lives on the moon, pounding the elixir of life under the osmanthus tree; look for it at Mid-Autumn.
Years of the Rabbit
Each starts at Chinese New Year.
- 1927Fire Rabbit, from 2 February 1927
- 1939Earth Rabbit, from 19 February 1939
- 1951Metal Rabbit, from 6 February 1951
- 1963Water Rabbit, from 25 January 1963
- 1975Wood Rabbit, from 11 February 1975
- 1987Fire Rabbit, from 29 January 1987
- 1999Earth Rabbit, from 16 February 1999
- 2011Metal Rabbit, from 3 February 2011
- 2023Water Rabbit, from 22 January 2023
- 2035Wood Rabbit, from 8 February 2035
Born in 1987?
Between 29 January 1987 and 16 February 1988 you are a Fire Rabbit.
Anyone born from 29 January 1987 to 16 February 1988 is a Fire Rabbit (丁卯) and turns 39 in 2026. Gentle, tactful and perceptive. The Rabbit prefers harmony to confrontation and tends to be the one everyone confides in. Fire years favour energy and visibility: bold moves, warm company, the spotlight.
Born in January or early February 1987, before the 29 January 1987 new year? Then the previous animal, the Tiger, is yours: the zodiac follows the lunar calendar, not 1 January. The zodiac calculator settles it from the exact date.
Your zodiac years (本命年, when the Rabbit comes round again) are 1999, 2011, 2023, 2035, 2047, 2059; the next one is 2035. Tradition has you wear something red through a 本命年 for protection. The signs said to suit a Rabbit best are the Goat, the Pig and the Dog: the compatibility table has every pair.
Questions
What is the Chinese zodiac for 1987?
1987 is the Year of the Fire Rabbit. Anyone born from 29 January 1987 to 16 February 1988 is a Rabbit; a birthday earlier in 1987, before Chinese New Year, belongs to the Tiger.
When does the Year of the Rabbit 1987 start and end?
It starts at Chinese New Year, 29 January 1987, and ends on 16 February 1988, the day before the next new year.
What element is the Rabbit in 1987?
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 1987 a Rabbit?
No. A baby born before 29 January 1987 belongs to the previous animal, the Tiger. The zodiac year follows the lunar calendar, not 1 January.
Which other years were Fire Rabbit years?
1927. The same stem and branch return every sixty years.
Your Rabbit in ink
The Rabbit 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 Rabbit. All twelve: the zodiac.