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Rat in a traditional Chinese landscape

Earthly branch 1 of 12

Rat 子 Branch: Hours 23:00–00:59, Water & Trine

子 Zi is branch 1 of 12: the Rat, Yang Water, hours 23:00–00:59, month opening at Dàxuě 大雪. It clashes with Horse and joins the Water trine with Monkey and Dragon.

子Zi

What 子 names

  • 01

    The hour

    23:00–00:59

    Traditionally the hour rats are boldest, when a still household is theirs.

  • 02

    The month

    大雪 Dàxuě

    Major Snow opens it — month 11 counted from 立春, not from January.

  • 03

    The direction

    North

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

  • 04

    The phase

    Water

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

Inside 子: season and hidden stems

winter · yang Water. The branch contains 癸 (primary water). Compare the full hidden-stem register →

All branch memberships

Its fixed relations

  • 冲 · Clash

    Horse 午

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

  • 六合 · Six harmony

    Ox 丑

    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 Rat in the Great Race

Place1of 12

Too small to cross the river, the Rat talked its way onto the Ox's back and rode the whole way in comfort — then sprang from its shoulders at the bank and landed first. The same tale has the Rat persuading the Cat to sleep through the start, which is why no cat is among the twelve.

Read the complete Great Race story →

The five Rat pillars

  1. Cycle position1甲子Yang Wood RatExample year 1984
  2. Cycle position13丙子Yang Fire RatExample year 1996
  3. Cycle position25戊子Yang Earth RatExample year 2008
  4. Cycle position37庚子Yang Metal RatExample year 2020
  5. Cycle position49壬子Yang Water RatExample year 2032

Move around the circle

The twelve branches