What Chinese zodiac sign am I?

Why there are two answers

Chinese New Year follows the moon: it falls between 21 January and 20 February, on a different date each year. The Start of Spring follows the sun: it is the first of the 24 solar terms (Jie Qi, 节气), and lands within a day of 4 February. Between the two, one reckoning has begun the new year and the other has not.

When people say what sign they are, most count from New Year. A BaZi chart cuts its years and months at the solar terms, and its year begins at the Start of Spring — so the year in someone’s chart can be a different animal from the sign they give. Neither is a mistake; they count different things.

The Start of Spring is a moment, and almanacs give it in Beijing time. Born somewhere else, it has to be moved onto the clock in force there at the time: Kuala Lumpur and Singapore ran half an hour behind Beijing until the end of 1981, so the 1975 Start of Spring, at 18:59 in Beijing, was 18:29 on the clocks in Kuala Lumpur. Why the timezone matters

Every year’s sign, New Year and Start of Spring, 1924–2031

Start of Spring in Beijing time (UTC+8). Born between the two dates in a row, the two reckonings give different signs.