丁卯

The Chinese sexagenary cycle (干支) pairs ten Heavenly Stems (天干) with twelve Earthly Branches (地支). 丁 is the 4th stem (associated with fire/yin); 卯 is the 4th branch (the Rabbit). The full cycle resets every 60 years, hence the importance of a 60th birthday (一甲子).

history

The Manchu invasion of Korea in 1627 is known in Korean as the Jeongmyo War (丁卯胡乱 / Dingmao Barbarian Disturbance). Korean and Japanese histories also count years by this same cycle.