Fire Monkey (丙申): personality and meaning in the Chinese zodiac
The Fire Monkey, 丙申, makes the Monkey bolder and more ambitious. The tradition reads it as energetic, confident and competitive.
Heavenly stem and earthly branch: 丙申
Years: 1956, 2016
Character
丙申 sets 丙, yang fire, the sun, over the Monkey's metal. Fire melts metal, so the tradition reads this as a pair in which the stem restrains its branch: a forge's heat on bright metal, talent worked hard into shape.
The tradition reads those born in a Fire Monkey year as dynamic, inventive and self-assured, with a competitive spark and a love of being at the centre. They are persuasive and full of ideas. The tradition's shadow for the Fire Monkey is impatience and a sharp tongue, and a restlessness that can make it leave a project the moment it becomes routine.
In love and at work
In love the Fire Monkey is read as passionate, playful and exciting, needing a partner who can keep up and also steady it. At work it excels in entrepreneurship, sales, performance and technology. The tradition suggests the Fire Monkey finish one thing before starting the next.
A question to take with you
What would you gain by seeing one project all the way through?
Updated October 28, 2026