What Chinese hour is it now?
The twelve Chinese hours, explained
What Chinese hour is it now?
Traditional Chinese timekeeping divides the day into twelve two-hour periods (shichen), each named after an earthly branch: Rat 23:00–01:00, Ox 01–03, Tiger 03–05, Rabbit 05–07, Dragon 07–09, Snake 09–11, Horse 11–13, Goat 13–15, Monkey 15–17, Rooster 17–19, Dog 19–21 and Pig 21–23. The Rat hour straddles midnight, and the new day begins at 23:00.
How is an hour auspicious or not?
Each hour is ruled by one of twelve almanac spirits. Azure Dragon, Bright Hall, Golden Coffer, Heavenly Virtue, Jade Hall and Life Controller hours are auspicious ("yellow path"); the other six are inauspicious ("black path"). Hour-by-hour favourable and unfavourable activities come from the same almanac system as the daily Tung Shing.
Where does the lucky direction come from?
Every hour has its own Qi Men Dun Jia chart. The three lucky gates are Open, Rest and Life; a palace holding one of them, not suppressed by its palace and not void this hour, is a direction worth heading toward. This page uses the widely adopted Chai Bu rotating-plate method, cross-checked against independent implementations.
Chinese hour clock · FAQ
- Can I look up another time?
- Yes. Pick any date and time, tap an hour on the dial, or step hour by hour; every chart follows, and the link remembers the time so you can share the exact chart.
- Is the Rat hour today or tomorrow?
- From 23:00 it counts as the next day, the same convention used for Four Pillars charts.