| Rooster | |
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Real Name |
Rooster |
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First Appearance |
Chinese Mythology |
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Created by |
Unknown |
Origin[]
The Rooster (simplified Chinese: 鸡; traditional Chinese: 雞/鷄) is the tenth of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese Zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Rooster is represented by the Earthly Branch symbol 酉.
In the Tibetan zodiac and the Gurung zodiac, the bird is in place of the Rooster.
An ancient folktale called "The Great Race" tells of the Jade Emperor's decree that the years on the calendar would be named for each animal in the order they reached him. To get there, the animals would have to cross a river.
After a while, the Goat, Monkey, and Rooster came to the river blocking the heavenly gate. The Rooster found a raft, and the Monkey and the Goat tugged and pulled, trying to get all the weeds out of the way. With combined efforts, they managed to arrive to the other side. The Jade Emperor was pleased with their teamwork and decided to name the Goat as the eighth animal, followed by the Monkey and then the Rooster.
In Buddhism, legend has it that Gautama Buddha summoned all of the animals of the Earth to come before him before his departure from this Earth, but only twelve animals actually came to bid him farewell. To reward the animals who came to him, he named a year after each of them. The years were given to them in the order they had arrived.
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
All published appearances of the Rooster of the Chinese Zodiac from before January 1, 1930 are public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
- Ancient Calendars and Constellations (1903)
- Things Japanese (1905)
- 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica