鸡雞 Rooster

Characteristics

The Rooster is popularly associated with watchfulness, honesty and hard work — a confident, well-organised figure said to be punctual, candid and proud of a job done well. Folk descriptions credit it with courage and a flair for being noticed. These belong to the sign’s cultural image in tradition, not to any individual.

History

Tenth in the cycle and the earthly branch 酉 (yǒu), the Rooster is the timekeeper of the farmyard, its dawn crowing long taken as a sign of reliability and the return of light. Tradition also treats it as a creature that wards off bad influences, and its crowing is associated with dispelling darkness — an image of vigilance and steadfastness.

In the Great Race

It was the sharp-eyed Rooster that found the raft the three companions needed, then crossed the river aboard it with the Monkey and the Goat, all of them paddling and steering together. Reaching the bank after its two partners, the Rooster placed tenth — its keen eye for the raft the reason any of the three got across at all.

The five elements

Across the sixty-year cycle the Rooster appears in five elemental tones: a Wood Rooster is described as more easy-going, a Fire Rooster as especially energetic, an Earth Rooster as steadier and more methodical, a Metal Rooster as more determined, and a Water Rooster as more adaptable. They are cultural shades on the same watchful sign, not forecasts.

Recent & upcoming years

Further reading

• Wikipedia: Rooster (zodiac)
• Wikipedia: Chinese zodiac
• Britannica: Chinese zodiac (owner to confirm)