--- title: "What Chinese Zodiac Is 1944? Year of the Wood Monkey" description: "1944 is the Year of the Wood Monkey in the Chinese zodiac, from January 25, 1944 to February 12, 1945. Personality, Lunar New Year dates and numerology." canonical: https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1944 last-updated: 2026-10-23 reviewed: false author: Unified Reading editorial --- # What Chinese Zodiac Is 1944? Year of the Wood Monkey In Chinese astrology, 1944 is the Year of the Wood Monkey, a Yang year. It began at Lunar New Year on January 25, 1944 and ended on February 12, 1945, so people born in 1944 before Jan 25 belong to the Water Goat year. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | | --- | --- | | Animal · element · polarity | Monkey · Wood · Yang | | Starts (Lunar New Year) | January 25, 1944 | | Ends | February 12, 1945 | | Born in 1944 before Jan 25 | Water Goat (the 1943 year) | | Monkey's fixed element | Metal (Metal controls Wood) | | Other Wood Monkey years (1924-2044) | 2004 | | Stem-branch name | Jia-Shen | | Lunar New Year weekday · Sun sign | Tuesday · Aquarius | | Numerology year number | 9 | ## When the 1944 Wood Monkey year starts and ends The 1944 Wood Monkey year began at Lunar New Year on January 25, 1944 and lasted until February 12, 1945, the day before the next new year. Anyone born between January 1 and Jan 25 1944 therefore belongs to the Water Goat year that started in 1943, while someone born in early 1945, up to Feb 12, is still a Wood Monkey. The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, which is why the start date moves between January 21 and February 20 instead of staying on January 1. The same Wood Monkey combination also falls in 2004, sixty years apart, because five elements and twelve animals realign only once in each sixty-year cycle. Lunar New Year 1944 fell on a Tuesday, while the Western Sun was in Aquarius. ## Wood Monkey personality Wood Monkey years are associated with inventive, sociable and constructive people. The Monkey's Metal prunes Wood in the controlling cycle, so traditional readings describe cleverness shaped by warmth and an interest in fairness. Those born then are often lively communicators and quick learners. The usual caution is starting new schemes before finishing old ones. Teaching and tinkering are often lifelong pleasures for them, and they enjoy sharing what they make. Wood is the element of spring and of things that grow, so a Wood year is traditionally said to lend any animal a generous, expansive streak. Classical descriptions link it with kindness, idealism and a talent for cooperation: Wood people are often pictured as the ones who start community projects, mentor younger colleagues and believe that most situations can improve with patience and goodwill. The element also carries a strong sense of fairness and a dislike of waste. Its shadow side, according to most readings, is overextension. Like a plant reaching in every direction, a Wood-year person may take on too much, trust too readily or struggle to say no when a cause seems worthwhile. ## 1944 in numerology and the twelve-year cycle In numerology the year reduces to 9, the number of completion, generosity and letting go, and a 9 year is traditionally read as one of endings that clear space. The digits of 1944 add up to 18, which reduces to 9. In the twelve-year cycle the Monkey is the ninth animal, earthly branch Shen, with Metal as its fixed element and Yang polarity. The year element is Wood, and in the five-element cycles metal controls Wood. The year before was the Water Goat and the year after is the Wood Rooster. In the traditional sexagenary count the year is called Jia-Shen: Jia is the Wood heavenly stem and Shen is the Monkey's earthly branch. Stems and branches alternate between yang and yin together, which is why yang stems only ever meet yang animals. ## Frequently asked questions ### What Chinese zodiac is 1944? 1944 is the Year of the Wood Monkey. It started on January 25, 1944 and ended on February 12, 1945. ### What if I was born in January or February 1944? Check the date against Jan 25. Born before January 25, 1944, you are a Water Goat; born on or after it, you are a Wood Monkey. ### What element is 1944 in the Chinese zodiac? Wood, a Yang year. The Monkey's own fixed element is Metal; the year element changes every two years, while the fixed element stays with the animal. ### What is the traditional Chinese name for 1944? Jia-Shen. The first part is the heavenly stem, which carries the year's element and polarity; the second is the earthly branch, which carries the animal. Almanacs, calendars and Four Pillars charts identify years this way rather than by animal alone. ### When is the next Wood Monkey year? 2004, sixty years later, when the five elements and twelve animals line up again; the table also has 2004. ## Related pages - [Wood Monkey](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/wood-monkey) - [Monkey](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/monkey) - [Chinese zodiac years](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/years) - [1943 (Water Goat)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1943) - [1945 (Wood Rooster)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1945) - [1932 (Water Monkey)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1932) - [1956 (Fire Monkey)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1956) - [2004 (Wood Monkey)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2004) - [1968 (Earth Monkey)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1968) - [Chinese zodiac calculator](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac-calculator) - [Chinese zodiac](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac) ## About Unified Reading Unified Reading combines Pythagorean numerology, the Western Sun sign (Moon and rising with a birth time), the Chinese zodiac and life-stage context in one reading. The preview is free at https://unifiedreading.com/#details; the full reading is $4.99, paid once through Stripe, with no subscription. A fictional sample is at https://unifiedreading.com/sample. With a birth time and place it adds whole sign houses and the chart ruler; it does not calculate planetary aspects or transits, and it is a framework for reflection, not a prediction.