--- title: "What Chinese Zodiac Is 1971? Year of the Metal Pig" description: "1971 is the Year of the Metal Pig in the Chinese zodiac, from January 27, 1971 to February 14, 1972. Personality, Lunar New Year dates and numerology." canonical: https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1971 last-updated: 2026-10-23 reviewed: false author: Unified Reading editorial --- # What Chinese Zodiac Is 1971? Year of the Metal Pig In Chinese astrology, 1971 is the Year of the Metal Pig, a Yin year. It began at Lunar New Year on January 27, 1971 and ended on February 14, 1972, so people born in 1971 before Jan 27 belong to the Metal Dog year. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | | --- | --- | | Animal · element · polarity | Pig · Metal · Yin | | Starts (Lunar New Year) | January 27, 1971 | | Ends | February 14, 1972 | | Born in 1971 before Jan 27 | Metal Dog (the 1970 year) | | Pig's fixed element | Water (Metal generates Water) | | Other Metal Pig years (1924-2044) | 2031 | | Stem-branch name | Xin-Hai | | Lunar New Year weekday · Sun sign | Wednesday · Aquarius | | Numerology year number | 9 | ## When the 1971 Metal Pig year starts and ends The 1971 Metal Pig year began at Lunar New Year on January 27, 1971 and lasted until February 14, 1972, the day before the next new year. Anyone born between January 1 and Jan 27 1971 therefore belongs to the Metal Dog year that started in 1970, while someone born in early 1972, up to Feb 14, is still a Metal 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 Metal Pig combination also falls in 2031, sixty years apart, because five elements and twelve animals realign only once in each sixty-year cycle. Lunar New Year 1971 fell on a Wednesday, while the Western Sun was in Aquarius. ## Metal Pig personality Strong, honest and resilient, the Metal Pig pairs generosity with real backbone. Metal feeds the Pig's Water, which tradition reads as warmth supplied with determination. People born in this year are often loyal friends with clear goals. Stubbornness and swinging between hard work and indulgence are the usual watch-points. Their honesty is rarely unkind, and their help usually arrives before anyone asks for it, often in very practical form. Metal is the element of autumn and harvest, and a Metal year is traditionally said to sharpen whatever animal it meets. Descriptions associate it with determination, discipline, clear judgement and a strong code of principle. Metal-year people are often portrayed as decisive, self-reliant and willing to do difficult things because they are right. The element is linked with refinement and with cutting away what is unnecessary, so it tends to bring focus and high standards. Its traditional shadow is rigidity: Metal can become inflexible, proud or emotionally guarded, preferring to be correct over being close, and finding it hard to bend once a position is taken. ## 1971 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 1971 add up to 18, which reduces to 9. 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 Metal, and in the five-element cycles metal generates Water. The year before was the Metal Dog and the year after is the Water Rat. In the traditional sexagenary count the year is called Xin-Hai: Xin is the Metal 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 1971? 1971 is the Year of the Metal Pig. It started on January 27, 1971 and ended on February 14, 1972. ### What if I was born in January or February 1971? Check the date against Jan 27. Born before January 27, 1971, you are a Metal Dog; born on or after it, you are a Metal Pig. ### What element is 1971 in the Chinese zodiac? Metal, 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 1971? Xin-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 Metal Pig year? 2031, sixty years later, when the five elements and twelve animals line up again; the table also has 2031. ## Related pages - [Metal Pig](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/metal-pig) - [Pig](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/pig) - [Chinese zodiac years](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/years) - [1970 (Metal Dog)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1970) - [1972 (Water Rat)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1972) - [1959 (Earth Pig)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1959) - [1983 (Water Pig)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1983) - [2031 (Metal Pig)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2031) - [1947 (Fire Pig)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1947) - [1995 (Wood Pig)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1995) - [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.