Cast & Chart

Animal 10 of 12

Rooster

雞 jī, branch 酉

In the classical sources

酉雞也

The branch 酉 is the chicken.

論衡 · 物勢篇第十四 (Wikisource 論衡/14, traditional script)

About this sign

酉 falls tenth, with metal as its element and yin as its polarity, and its creature is written 雞, the ordinary word for a chicken. English calls the sign Rooster by convention. The Lunheng's three-character entry says no more about it than that.

Expect precise, blunt and well-turned-out in the popular zodiac books, which often add an eye for detail. The Han witness offers the branch, the name of a farmyard fowl and one question about pecking, and nothing about character.

Metal is doubled in this sign's triad, because 巳, 酉 and 丑 form a metal group and 酉 is itself a metal branch. 辰 is its Six Harmonies partner, 卯, directly opposite, is its Clash, 戌 its Harm and 子 its Breaking, and 酉 is one of the four branches that punish themselves. The Lunheng asks why the rooster does not peck the rabbit, and the later tables make those two signs a Clash. Ask yourself whether a rule feels as firm once you have read a very old book questioning its logic.

Traits people associate with it

  • punctual
  • outspoken
  • observant
  • proud

The personality traits on this page are modern popular tradition. They are not found in the classical sources, which name the animal alongside its earthly branch and say nothing of the kind about people born in its years.

The five element years

Pairings

Where this text comes from

Wang Chong's Lunheng, chapters 14 and 66, on Wikisource, is the source for the pairing of animals and branches. It is one work, so these are two chapters and not independent witnesses. The relations in the last paragraph follow 五行大義 volume 2 and 三命通會 volumes 2 and 3.

The English here is our own plain wording, not a translation of a single source.