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Orphic Meridian Association

Origins of Symbols · Calendars and Bazi

FDL-020

Does the Bazi Year Change at Lichun or Lunar New Year?

The solar position of Lichun shown beside the new moon that begins Lunar New Year
Lichun and the first lunar day are boundaries of different kinds. Generated illustration.
Author
Editorial Board, Orphic Meridian Association
Date
2026-02-04
Reading time
3 min

There is no context-free answer to whether a stem-branch year changes at Lichun or Lunar New Year. The official Chinese calendar begins its year on the first day of the first lunar month. Many Four Pillars methods use the solar term Lichun as the year-pillar boundary.

The official calendar uses Lunar New Year

The Hong Kong Observatory distinguishes the first day of the first month as the beginning of the year from Lichun as the beginning of the seasonal cycle. Public calendars, festival dates, and ordinary zodiac-year labels generally follow the lunar-year rule.

Why Four Pillars often uses Lichun

The month pillar follows solar terms, with the Yin month beginning at Lichun. Some traditions place the year pillar in the same solar framework. A birth after Lunar New Year but before Lichun may therefore receive one public zodiac label and a different year pillar.

Both can follow their stated rules. The error is presenting one result as the only “true animal” without identifying the system.

Boundary cases require an exact time

Lichun occurs when the Sun reaches a defined longitude; it is an instant, not a whole-day label. A report should say whether it changes the year pillar at that instant or whether the official lunar year is being reported.

One person can legitimately receive two labels

Suppose a birth falls after Lunar New Year but before Lichun. A public calendar may place it in the new zodiac-animal year, while a Lichun-based Four Pillars calculation retains the previous year pillar. Neither result needs to be a software defect.

The disagreement becomes misleading only when the label is detached from its rule. “Chinese zodiac year under the official calendar” and “year pillar under a Lichun boundary” are reproducible statements. “Your real sign is…” hides the choice.

Read how the sexagenary cycle works and why month pillars use solar terms.

References