Chinese cultural term · reviewed 2026-10-21
地支
Earthly Branches
dì zhī · earthly branches
A cycle of twelve labels paired with Heavenly Stems in the sexagenary calendar and associated with zodiac animals.
A familiar bridge
Start from something known.
Twelve repeating coordinates that also map onto zodiac animals and traditional two-hour time periods.
Worked example
See the term in position.
Zi is the first branch, conventionally associated with the Rat and the night period around midnight.
Cultural context
What surrounds the word.
The year branch supplies the popular zodiac animal, while the hour branch helps represent the two-hour birth-time interval.
Boundary
What it does not mean.
The branch is not an animal personality type, and the zodiac boundary must follow the stated calendar convention.
Inside the portrait
How this term appears here.
The portrait uses the year branch for the zodiac and includes branch characters in each available pillar.