Welcome in 2017 and the Year of the Rooster with this ancient tale from the Spring and Autumn period - how the once over-sensitive Rooster cultivated into a calm and magnificent warrior. More
2017 is the year of the Rooster. People born in this year are likely to be competitive, and this character trait can bring some problems. But this doesn’t mean that there is no solution for it. There is a famous story about Rooster cultivating during the Spring and Autumn period that may bring you some hints.
Rooster fighting was a popular game in those days, even in the royal court. The King of the Qi Kingdom was a big fan. He chose one of the best roosters in the kingdom and sent it to be trained by a famous rooster training master called Ji Zi. He was very impatient and could not wait even 10 days after the rooster left. He sent a messenger to ask Ji Zi: “Is the training finished?” Ji Zi replied: “The training is far from finished. That rooster has too much pride and could never win.” But the king just couldn’t wait to show off his favorite rooster, so after another 10 days he again sent a messenger to ask Ji Zi: “Is the rooster ready for competition?” Ji Zi replied: “The rooster is still not ready. He is too sensitive to the actions of others, and eager to fight back right away when teased by his competitor. He will lose easily because of this.” After another 10 days passed, Ji Zi brought the rooster to the King himself: “My king, this rooster is now ready for any competition. No matter how other roosters try to scream and make him react, he will not be impacted at all and will remain calm like a statue. Also, his virtue as a magnificent fighter is cultivated well now. So when other roosters see him, they will be frightened just by his energy field, and will run away. They won’t even dare to start a fight with him.”
The rooster, as ancient Chinese people put it, has five virtues: its red fleshy comb, which looks like the caps worn by classical scholars — this shows its intelligence; its claws and spurs — these show its martial character; its willingness to fight off threats — this shows its courage; its calls upon seeing food — this shows its benevolence; its daily announcement of the dawn — this shows its faithfulness. In Chinese, the name of rooster — "Ji" — also sounds like the Chinese word for "fortune," and so the rooster, too, is a symbol of auspiciousness.
Edited by James Poulter.
