Chinese age calculator
Traditional Chinese age (xu sui) counts you as one at birth and adds a year at every Lunar New Year. Purple Star Astrology times its 10-year periods with it.
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How xu sui is counted
Xu sui = current lunar year − lunar year of birth + 1. You are one at birth and gain a year at each Lunar New Year, whatever your birthday. A baby born on Lunar New Year's Eve turns two the next day.
Some people simply take the Gregorian years and add one. For anyone born in January or early February this can differ by a year from the Lunar New Year count; chart readings use the Lunar New Year count.
Why Purple Star Astrology uses xu sui
The 10-year periods on a chart are written in xu sui: with a Water 2 bureau the first period runs from 2 to 11. The minor and yearly cycles also step one palace per xu sui year, so your xu sui tells you where you are on the chart.
FAQ
How far apart are xu sui and Western age?
Usually one or two years: two between Lunar New Year and your birthday, one after it. If you were born in January or early February, before Lunar New Year, your birth counts in the previous lunar year, so the gap can be one more, up to three.
Is the zodiac animal set by the Gregorian or lunar year?
By the lunar year, changing at Lunar New Year, so January and early-February births often take the previous animal. Ba Zi's year pillar changes at Li Chun instead, which can be a few days off.
When is my lunar birthday this year?
Enter your birth date and the result shows the Gregorian date of this year's lunar birthday. If you were born on day 30 and the month has 29 days, day 29 is used; a leap-month birthday uses the regular month when there is no leap month.
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This is the general reading. On your own chart it shifts with the stars' brightness, the San Fang Si Zheng and the year you are in.
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