What is the 1968 year of the Chinese zodiac?

The 1968 year of the Chinese zodiac is the Earth Monkey. In the traditional 60-year cycle, 1968 corresponds to Wu 申, where Wu represents Earth and Shen represents the Monkey.

What are the lunar calendar dates for the 1968 Chinese zodiac year?

The 1968 Chinese zodiac year runs from Jan 30, 1968 to Feb 16, 1969 in the Gregorian calendar. Anyone born within this period belongs to the Earth Monkey sign.

What is the Earth Monkey personality like?

Clever and curious, the Earth Monkey is known for being grounded and practical. The Earth element adds stable to the Monkey's natural clever, making them reliable and steady.

Is 1968 a Monkey year if I was born in January?

Not necessarily. If you were born before Jan 30, 1968, you fall under the previous zodiac sign. The Chinese zodiac follows the lunar calendar, not the Gregorian calendar, so the exact date matters.

1968 Year of the Chinese Zodiac - Earth Monkey Personality & Meaning

What Is the 1968 Chinese Zodiac Sign?

The 1968 year of the Chinese zodiac belongs to the Monkey, and more specifically, the Earth Monkey. This pairing brings together the Monkey's grounded nature with the Earth element's stable energy.

Born in 1968? Your Chinese zodiac sign is the Monkey. Not just any Monkey, though -- it's the Earth Monkey, a combination that shapes personality in ways that are both distinctive and memorable. Earth brings stability and practicality. People born in this year are more grounded and reliable than others of their sign, with a no-nonsense approach that gets results.

The Monkey is the trickster-genius of the Chinese zodiac. Clever, curious, and endlessly entertaining, Monkeys can figure out just about anything -- and have fun doing it. They're the ones who find the shortcut nobody else saw.

Zodiac Animal

Monkey

Element

Earth

Yin / Yang

Yang

Lunar Year Start

Jan 30, 1968

Lunar Year End

Feb 16, 1969

Heavenly Stem

Wu (戊)

Earthly Branch

Shen (申)

Cycle Position

9 of 12

1968 Lunar Calendar Explained

The Chinese lunar calendar and the Gregorian calendar don't follow the same rules. Here's how that affects the 1968 year of the Chinese zodiac.

Chinese yin yang symbol representing Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches for 1968

The Year of Wu Shen

In the traditional Chinese lunar calendar, 1968 was the year of Wu Shen. "Wu" stands for Earth in the Heavenly Stems system, while "Shen" maps to the Monkey in the Earthly Branches. This particular pairing only rolls around once every 60 years.

Chinese lunar calendar showing 1968 zodiac year dates

Lunar Year Dates for 1968

The 1968 lunar year kicked off on Jan 30, 1968 and wrapped up on Feb 16, 1969. If your birthday falls in that window, you're a Earth Monkey. But if you were born earlier in Jan 1968 -- before the 30 -- you'd actually be the previous zodiac sign instead.

Comparison of lunar and solar calendar systems for 1968

How the Lunar Calendar Works

The Chinese lunar calendar tracks the moon's phases, with each month starting on the new moon. A standard lunar year runs about 354 days across 12 months. To keep pace with the solar year, a leap month gets tacked on roughly every three years -- which is why Chinese New Year jumps around on the Western calendar.

Earth element symbol for the 1968 Yang Earth Monkey

Why Yang Earth Matters

The Wu Earth in the 1968 year of the Chinese zodiac is Yang Earth -- Yang energy is active, outward, and assertive. It pushes things forward and gives people born under its influence a natural confidence and drive. Earth brings stability and practicality. People born in this year are more grounded and reliable than others of their sign, with a no-nonsense approach that gets results.

1968 in the Gregorian Calendar

What does 1968 look like through the lens of the Western calendar, and why does the date cutoff matter for the Chinese zodiac?

Sun symbol representing the Gregorian solar calendar for 1968

1968 on the Western Calendar

1968 on the Gregorian calendar is straightforward -- January 1 through December 31. But in Chinese culture, the year pulsed with the Earth Monkey's grounded, stable energy, shaping how people born that year see the world.

Calendar mismatch between Chinese lunar and Gregorian dates for 1968

Why the Dates Don't Line Up

The 1968 year of the Chinese zodiac doesn't run from January 1 to December 31. Because Chinese New Year shifts each year, the zodiac year straddles two Gregorian years. For 1968, the Earth Monkey period ran from Jan 30, 1968 through Feb 16, 1969.

Calendar for checking exact Chinese zodiac birthdate in 1968

Check Your Birthdate Carefully

This matters more than most people realize. Born Jan 30 1968 or earlier? You're the previous sign, not a Monkey. The lunar calendar dates are the ones that count -- always double-check if your birthday falls near the Chinese New Year cutoff.

Chart showing cultural significance of the 1968 Chinese zodiac

Why This Distinction Matters

If you're looking into family history or just trying to understand what the 1968 year of the Chinese zodiac really means, getting the calendar right is half the battle. The Chinese zodiac gives you a completely different way of reading personality and life path compared to Western astrology.

Earth Monkey Personality Traits

People born in the 1968 year of the Chinese zodiac have a personality that's shaped by the Monkey's nature and the Earth element's influence. Here's the breakdown.

Clever

Monkeys are the sharpest tools in the shed. They pick up new skills fast, spot patterns others miss, and can think their way out of almost any jam.

Curious

Monkeys want to know how everything works. They're tinkerers and explorers who can't resist poking at something new until they figure it out.

Creative

Give a Monkey a problem and they'll come at it from an angle nobody else considered. Their creativity isn't just artistic -- it's practical and wildly effective.

Sociable

Monkeys are the life of the party. They love people, people love them, and they have a talent for making any gathering more fun. Their social circle is usually huge.

Quick-Witted

Monkeys think fast and talk faster. They're great on their feet in meetings, arguments, and casual conversation. That quickness keeps things interesting.

Versatile

Monkeys can adapt to just about any situation. Drop them in a new city, a new job, or a new social circle and they'll figure it out -- usually faster than everyone else.