--- title: "What Chinese Zodiac Is 1959? Year of the Earth Pig" description: "1959 is the Year of the Earth Pig in the Chinese zodiac, from February 8, 1959 to January 27, 1960. Personality, Lunar New Year dates and numerology." canonical: https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1959 last-updated: 2026-10-23 reviewed: false author: Unified Reading editorial --- # What Chinese Zodiac Is 1959? Year of the Earth Pig In Chinese astrology, 1959 is the Year of the Earth Pig, a Yin year. It began at Lunar New Year on February 8, 1959 and ended on January 27, 1960, so people born in 1959 before Feb 8 belong to the Earth Dog year. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | | --- | --- | | Animal · element · polarity | Pig · Earth · Yin | | Starts (Lunar New Year) | February 8, 1959 | | Ends | January 27, 1960 | | Born in 1959 before Feb 8 | Earth Dog (the 1958 year) | | Pig's fixed element | Water (Earth controls Water) | | Other Earth Pig years (1924-2044) | 2019 | | Stem-branch name | Ji-Hai | | Lunar New Year weekday · Sun sign | Sunday · Aquarius | | Numerology year number | 6 | ## When the 1959 Earth Pig year starts and ends The 1959 Earth Pig year began at Lunar New Year on February 8, 1959 and lasted until January 27, 1960, the day before the next new year. Anyone born between January 1 and Feb 8 1959 therefore belongs to the Earth Dog year that started in 1958, while someone born in early 1960, up to Jan 27, is still a Earth Pig. 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 Earth Pig combination also falls in 2019, sixty years apart, because five elements and twelve animals realign only once in each sixty-year cycle. Lunar New Year 1959 fell on a Sunday, while the Western Sun was in Aquarius. ## Earth Pig personality Practical, devoted and quietly generous, the Earth Pig builds a home others love to visit. Earth contains the Pig's Water, which tradition reads as warmth given steady form. People born in this year are often good with resources and patient in their work. Excessive caution and comfort-seeking are their typical pitfalls; small adventures keep life fresh. Their hospitality is often the stuff of local legend. Earth sits at the centre of the five-element wheel, and an Earth year is traditionally said to give any animal steadiness, patience and a practical turn of mind. Descriptions associate it with reliability, honesty and a talent for holding things together, whether that means a family, a budget or a team in a difficult season. Earth-year people are often portrayed as grounded, fair and good at turning ideas into workable plans. The element is linked with nourishment and care, so it carries a quiet generosity. Its shadow, in most readings, is heaviness: worry, stubbornness and a reluctance to move until every risk has been weighed twice. ## 1959 in numerology and the twelve-year cycle In numerology the year's digits come to 6, linked with home, care and responsibility, so a 6 year is read as one centred on family and commitments. The digits of 1959 add up to 24, which reduces to 6. In the twelve-year cycle the Pig is the twelfth animal, earthly branch Hai, with Water as its fixed element and Yin polarity. The year element is Earth, and in the five-element cycles earth controls Water. The year before was the Earth Dog and the year after is the Metal Rat. In the traditional sexagenary count the year is called Ji-Hai: Ji is the Earth heavenly stem and Hai is the Pig's earthly branch. Stems and branches alternate between yang and yin together, which is why yin stems only ever meet yin animals. ## Frequently asked questions ### What Chinese zodiac is 1959? 1959 is the Year of the Earth Pig. It started on February 8, 1959 and ended on January 27, 1960. ### What if I was born in January or February 1959? Check the date against Feb 8. Born before February 8, 1959, you are a Earth Dog; born on or after it, you are a Earth Pig. ### What element is 1959 in the Chinese zodiac? Earth, a Yin year. The Pig's own fixed element is Water; the year element changes every two years, while the fixed element stays with the animal. ### What is the traditional Chinese name for 1959? Ji-Hai. 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 Earth Pig year? 2019, sixty years later, when the five elements and twelve animals line up again; the table also has 2019. ## Related pages - [Earth Pig](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/earth-pig) - [Pig](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/pig) - [Chinese zodiac years](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/years) - [1958 (Earth Dog)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1958) - [1960 (Metal Rat)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1960) - [1947 (Fire Pig)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1947) - [1971 (Metal Pig)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1971) - [2019 (Earth Pig)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2019) - [1935 (Wood Pig)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1935) - [1983 (Water Pig)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1983) - [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.