Zodiac
Monkey (猴, Shen 申)
Twelve Earthly Branches carry the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac — and Monkey (猴, Shen 申) is one of them. This page unpacks the branch as a room of your BaZi chart: what it is, what it feels like as the animal of your birth year, and the facts the engine can prove about it.
What this branch is
Shen is the gate of autumn — the Monkey, 15:00–17:00, when Metal arrives with a shout. It holds Geng, Ren and Wu: sharp, quick, full of clever turns.
What it feels like as your zodiac animal
When Monkey (猴, Shen 申) is the branch of your Year Pillar, the reading leans like this:
Monkey charts read as quick and clever: witty, resourceful and competitive — never boring, and never short of a plan.
The personality tint it tends to leave
In everyday life, a Year Pillar built on this branch often reads:
clever, witty, resourceful, playful, competitive
The Monkey in daily life
Monkey energy in daily life is clever, playful and resourceful — the mind that finds the shortcut and the wit that never quite rests. At work you are versatile: you pick up skills fast, improvise well under surprise and excel where adaptability and speed of thought are paid for. In decisions you are inventive and opportunistic: you see alternatives others miss, enjoy the puzzle of a problem and rarely stay wedded to one method. In relationships you are lively, loyal and independent: you love with humor and freedom, and you need a partner who finds your games fun rather than wearying. In health, Metal governs your lungs and skin: your quick mind needs movement to settle, and boredom is your real allergy. Across the four pillars, 申 in your Year colors your public wit; in your Month it seasons your career; in your Day it shapes your closest bonds; in your Hour it frames your later years. Clever in every seat. Practical note for a Monkey year person: marry cleverness to follow-through — the shortcut only counts if the finish line is reached.
What the engine says about it
Everything below is computed or calendar-certain — element, hidden occupants, season, and the years that carry Monkey (猴, Shen 申):
- Element Metal
- Main hidden stem (庚) Geng
- Hidden occupants Geng, Ren, Wu
- Season gate of autumn
- Zodiac years 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028
In two real charts
Two charts cast by the same deterministic engine that builds yours — one born in each of the last two Monkey (猴, Shen 申) years, so the Year Pillar below carries the branch itself. Every pillar is real; every label is computed.
Sample chart 1 — Jia (甲, Yang Wood) as Day Master, born in 2004
Born
Gender
Day Master
First Da Yun
Sample chart 2 — Ding (丁, Yin Fire) as Day Master, born in 2016
Born
Gender
Day Master
First Da Yun
The twelve zodiac signs
Every birth year belongs to one of the twelve. Explore each:
- Rat (鼠, Zi 子)
- Ox (牛, Chou 丑)
- Tiger (虎, Yin 寅)
- Rabbit (兔, Mao 卯)
- Dragon (龙, Chen 辰)
- Snake (蛇, Si 巳)
- Horse (马, Wu 午)
- Goat (羊, Wei 未)
- Monkey (猴, Shen 申)
- Rooster (鸡, You 酉)
- Dog (狗, Xu 戌)
- Pig (猪, Hai 亥)
Read the wider view
For how the branches carry animals, seasons and hidden occupants, read The Twelve Earthly Branches.
Traditional Chinese metaphysics is a cultural lens — educational and entertainment content, not a prediction or advice.