UP at the crack of dawn:
Yellow Chuan, Blue Chin and the red-crowned green rooster. At dawn its call brings them to their studies.
--Shen Chou
This is a poem originally written on a painting. It is composed of four phrases of five characters for a total of 20 characters. "Yellow Chuan" and "Green Chin" refer to diligent students carrying their scrolls. The four colors in the first line--yellow, blue, red and green--give the whole poem a bright feeling. The second line is very clear, bringing to mind the phrase, "Rising at the sound of the cock to practice one's swordsmanship." Whether one is studying literature or the martial arts, the rooster is a great partner to those who wish to get up and at it.
From these passages, you can see that both philosophers and poets love the cock and that several cultural ideals are projected onto him, making his character and traits live forever in the hearts and minds of Chinese.
Finally, let me speak of the moral character of roosters. The Han-shih wai-chuan (Han Ying's Illustrations of the Didactic Application of the Classic of Songs) points to the five characteristics of the cock: "Wearing a hat like a scholar, it is scholarly; with claws that pierce the flesh, it is martial; attacking when confronted by an enemy, it is bold; calling out when it finds food, it is benevolent; standing guard at night without fail, it is trustworthy." And so a cock is scholarly, martial, bold, benevolent and trustworthy. In the fresh light of the new year, these virtues not only fit in with the folklore of this festive holiday but cultivating them is our hope and duty.
[Picture Caption]
p.7
In ancient China, when men and women were being matched for marriage, it was necessary first to study the eight Chinese characters signifying the years, months, days and hours of their births. This picture shows a fortune teller in the midst of describing who would make a suitable mate for his client. The twelve signs of the zodiac all have their lucky and unlucky matches. Among them, "The gold cock weeps at the sight of the dog." The dog and the rooster, one fears, may not be the best of pairings. (from Chinese Popular Prints)
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"A Group of Roosters" a work of irregular embroidery by Chen Szu-hsieh.
p.10
Darnation! It's clearly the Year of the Rooster, and there isn't a single one around.
p.10
There are sure to be a lot of them in heaven because the elections are just over.
p.10
[Note: certain candidates in the recent election sacrificed chickens to back up their vows to run a clean campaign.]
(Cartoon by Lao Chiung, United Daily News, Jan. 15, 1993)
p.11
Reclining on a daybed, a young woman waves a peony playfully at a rooster in this lazy scene. In ancient times, cocks represented glory and peonies wealth. (from Chinese Popular Prints)
p.12
As the year of the rooster arrives, he shows up everywhere, including on windows, as toys and as lanterns.
p.12
Materials provided by Chang Chin-ju, Vincent Chang, Chen Li-chu, Ventine Tsai, and Ni Shu-yun.
p.13
(photo by Diago Chiu)
Reclining on a daybed, a young woman waves a peony playfully at a rooster in this lazy scene. In ancient times, cocks represented glory and peonies wealth. (from Chinese Popular Prints)
As the year of the rooster arrives, he shows up everywhere, including on windows, as toys and as lanterns.
Materials provided by Chang Chin-ju, Vincent Chang, Chen Li-chu, Ventine Tsai, and Ni Shu-yun.