--- title: "What Chinese Zodiac Is 1987? Year of the Fire Rabbit" description: "1987 is the Year of the Fire Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac, from January 29, 1987 to February 16, 1988. Personality, Lunar New Year dates and numerology." canonical: https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1987 last-updated: 2026-10-23 reviewed: false author: Unified Reading editorial --- # What Chinese Zodiac Is 1987? Year of the Fire Rabbit In Chinese astrology, 1987 is the Year of the Fire Rabbit, a Yin year. It began at Lunar New Year on January 29, 1987 and ended on February 16, 1988, so people born in 1987 before Jan 29 belong to the Fire Tiger year. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | | --- | --- | | Animal · element · polarity | Rabbit · Fire · Yin | | Starts (Lunar New Year) | January 29, 1987 | | Ends | February 16, 1988 | | Born in 1987 before Jan 29 | Fire Tiger (the 1986 year) | | Rabbit's fixed element | Wood (Wood generates Fire) | | Other Fire Rabbit years (1924-2044) | 1927 | | Stem-branch name | Ding-Mao | | Lunar New Year weekday · Sun sign | Thursday · Aquarius | | Numerology year number | 7 | ## 1987 Lunar New Year: start and end dates Lunar New Year opened the Fire Rabbit year on January 29, 1987, and the year ran to February 16, 1988. So a birth date of Jan 29, 1987 or later counts as Fire Rabbit, and so do early 1988 birthdays through Feb 16; births in 1987 before Jan 29 still belong to the Fire Tiger. That moving boundary comes from the lunisolar calendar, in which the new year starts with the second new moon after the winter solstice in most years, so its Gregorian date shifts by up to a month from one year to the next. Look sixty years either side and the pairing repeats: 1927 are Fire Rabbit years too. That Thursday new year arrived with the Sun in Aquarius in the Western zodiac. ## What the Fire Rabbit is like People born in a Fire Rabbit year are often pictured as affectionate diplomats with a performer's flair. The Rabbit's tact meets Fire's brightness, and since Wood generates Fire, the combination tends to flow easily outward. Expect, in traditional terms, someone sociable and openly warm. Readings suggest guarding against mood swings by alternating lively periods with quiet ones and keeping a few close confidants. Belonging to the south and to the height of summer, Fire brings brightness, drive and visibility to any sign it colours. Classical texts connect it with enthusiasm, leadership and the urge to be seen and to make an impression. A Fire stem tends to make an animal more expressive, more daring and more openly emotional than its usual reputation suggests. People born in Fire years are often described as inspiring company and natural motivators. The caution most readings attach is a short fuse and a difficulty with slow seasons, when steady effort matters more than spark and the reward is a long way off. ## 1987 in the animal cycle and in numerology In numerology the year reduces to 7, the number of reflection, analysis and inner work, giving a 7 year a quieter, more searching character. The digits of 1987 add up to 25, which reduces to 7. The Rabbit holds the fourth place among the twelve animals and its fixed element is Wood. Set beside the year's Fire stem, wood generates Fire, which readings use to describe how settled or stretched the combination feels. The year before was the Fire Tiger and the year after is the Earth Dragon. Chinese almanacs name 1987 Ding-Mao, pairing the Fire stem Ding with the branch Mao. Both are Yin, as stem and branch always share a polarity, so of the hundred and twenty possible pairings only sixty ever occur, and each one names a single year in every cycle. ## Frequently asked questions ### What Chinese zodiac is 1987? 1987 is the Year of the Fire Rabbit. It started on January 29, 1987 and ended on February 16, 1988. ### What if I was born in January or February 1987? Check the date against Jan 29. Born before January 29, 1987, you are a Fire Tiger; born on or after it, you are a Fire Rabbit. ### What element is 1987 in the Chinese zodiac? Fire, a Yin year. The Rabbit's own fixed element is Wood; the year element changes every two years, while the fixed element stays with the animal. ### What is the traditional Chinese name for 1987? Ding-Mao. 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 Fire Rabbit year? 2047, sixty years later, when the five elements and twelve animals line up again; the table also has 1927. ## Related pages - [Fire Rabbit](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/fire-rabbit) - [Rabbit](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/rabbit) - [Chinese zodiac years](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/years) - [1986 (Fire Tiger)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1986) - [1988 (Earth Dragon)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1988) - [1975 (Wood Rabbit)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1975) - [1999 (Earth Rabbit)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1999) - [1927 (Fire Rabbit)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1927) - [1963 (Water Rabbit)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1963) - [2011 (Metal Rabbit)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2011) - [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.