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Monkey in a traditional Chinese landscape

Earthly branch 9 of 12

Monkey 申 Branch: Hours 15:00–16:59, Metal & Trine

申 Shen is branch 9 of 12: the Monkey, Yang Metal, hours 15:00–16:59, month opening at Lìqiū 立秋. It clashes with Tiger and joins the Water trine with Rat and Dragon.

申Shen

What 申 names

  • 01

    The hour

    15:00–16:59

    Traditionally the hour monkeys grow lively and call across the trees.

  • 02

    The month

    立秋 Lìqiū

    Start of Autumn opens it — month 7 counted from 立春, not from January.

  • 03

    The direction

    West-southwest

    The twelve branches divide the compass as they divide the day.

  • 04

    The phase

    Metal

    十二支五行 — the phase the branch itself carries.

Inside 申: season and hidden stems

autumn · yang Metal. The branch contains 庚 (primary metal), 壬 (middle water), 戊 (residual earth). Compare the full hidden-stem register →

All branch memberships

Its fixed relations

  • 冲 · Clash

    Tiger 寅

    Six places opposite, so the two never share a season or an hour.

  • 六合 · Six harmony

    Snake 巳

    One of six pairs whose positions balance across the cycle.

  • 三合 · Trine

    Monkey · Rat · Dragon

    Four places apart, governing the Water phase together.

The Monkey in the Great Race

Place9of 12

Cleared the weeds that fouled the raft and pushed it clear of the reeds — the second of the three who chose to arrive together rather than first.

Read the complete Great Race story →

The five Monkey pillars

  1. Cycle position9壬申Yang Water MonkeyExample year 1992
  2. Cycle position21甲申Yang Wood MonkeyExample year 2004
  3. Cycle position33丙申Yang Fire MonkeyExample year 2016
  4. Cycle position45戊申Yang Earth MonkeyExample year 2028
  5. Cycle position57庚申Yang Metal MonkeyExample year 2040

Move around the circle

The twelve branches