Ba Zi/120-Year Basic Components Table

The 120-Year Basic Components Table spans the years 1912 to 2031. The basic 60-year cycle that is repeated endlessly may be taken as starting from 1924 to 1983. Each year is given a name, consisting of the name of the Heavenly Stem followed by the name of the (Animal Sign of the) Earthly Branch. For example, 1983 is known as the "Wood Rat" (甲子) year, and 1983 as the "Water Pig" (癸亥) year. For simplicity, the complete name is frequently not used, and is shortened to "Year of the Rat" or "Year of the Pig" respectively. In the table below, "E" is the acronym for Earthly Branch and "H" is the acronym for Heavenly Stem.