In the Chinese zodiac, 1988 is the Year of the Dragon, and its element is Earth. The Earth Dragon year began on Wednesday, February 17, 1988 and ended on Sunday, February 5, 1989. People born between those dates are Earth Dragons. The year started late, so everyone born from January 1 to February 16, 1988 is a Fire Rabbit.
When did the Year of the Dragon start and end in 1988?
| Birthday | Sign |
|---|---|
| January 1 to February 16, 1988 | Fire Rabbit |
| February 17, 1988 to February 5, 1989 | Earth Dragon |
| February 6, 1989 and later | Earth Snake |
The Dragon year lasted 355 days and had the usual 12 lunar months. It simply sat late in the calendar: 47 days of 1988 passed before it began, and it kept going for 36 days of 1989.
Why so late?
The Rabbit year before it was a long one. It contained a leap month in the summer of 1987, which stretched it to 384 days and moved the following Lunar New Year to February 17. That is within four days of the latest date the new year can fall on.
The Dragon is the sign people most like to claim, which makes the late start worth knowing about. Roughly one person in eight born in 1988 is a Rabbit. The story of that longer year is in 1987 in the Chinese zodiac.
Were you born in January or February?
- Born on January 30, 1988? You are a Rabbit; see the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac.
- Born on February 16, 1988? A Rabbit, on the last day of its year.
- Born on February 17, 1988? You are a Dragon, born on Lunar New Year's Day.
- Born on January 20, 1989? A Dragon too. The Snake year began on February 6.
The tool below gives the animal and element for any birthday. You can also open it on the Birthday Profile page.
Loading the tool…
What does Earth Dragon mean?
The Dragon is traditionally said to be ambitious, energetic and charismatic. National Museums Liverpool describes the sign as strong and independent, and the Victoria and Albert Museum notes that the Chinese dragon is an auspicious creature, a sign of good fortune and not a monster. Earth is the element linked with stability, patience and practicality. The tradition joins them into a Dragon with its feet on the ground: ambition together with patience. It is folklore about a symbol, not a description of a person.
At the end of the year the element did not change. Each element covers two years in a row, so the Snake year that followed is an Earth year as well.
In the old system of year names, 1988 is wu-chen: wu is the fifth of the ten "heavenly stems" and chen is the "earthly branch" of the Dragon. The way they combine is explained on our page about Chinese New Year animals. All Dragon years, traits and element types are in the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac.
When was the last Earth Dragon year, and when is the next?
| Earth Dragon year | First day | Last day |
|---|---|---|
| 1928 | January 23, 1928 | February 9, 1929 |
| 1988 | February 17, 1988 | February 5, 1989 |
| 2048 | February 14, 2048 | February 1, 2049 |
The same animal and element come together every 60 years. The start date wanders: the 1928 Earth Dragon year opened on January 23, nearly four weeks earlier in the calendar than the 1988 one.
How old are people born in 1988, and when is their next Dragon year?
People born in 1988 turn 39 in 2027. Dragon years have come around three times since their birth: in 2000, 2012 and 2024. The next begins on January 28, 2036 and ends on February 14, 2037.
A person's own zodiac year is called the ben ming nian. Folk belief regards it as a hurdle and not as a lucky year, and the custom attached to it is wearing red.
The years on either side
- 1987 was a Fire Rabbit year: January 29, 1987 to February 16, 1988.
- 1989 was an Earth Snake year: February 6, 1989 to January 26, 1990. See 1989 in the Chinese zodiac.