Poems about a Rooster — Part 1

From a Selection of Ancient Chinese Poems by my Grandfather, Tian Chen

Painting of a Rooster by Tang Yin written in the Ming Dynasty – 《画鸡》明, 唐寅

头上红冠不用裁，

A red crown remains untrimmed on its head,

满身雪白走将来。

Fully white as snow its body moves towards.

平生不敢轻言语，

Throughout its life it dares not speak,

一叫千门万户开。

Yet a single call opens one thousand doors.

In traditional Chinese culture, roosters represent honesty and punctuality. Without any alarm clocks, roosters serve a critical function — their crows at dawn summon people to work yet they are generally quiet in other times of the day. According to many sources, roosters have internal clocks which drives them to crow rather than the sunlight stimulating this reaction.

My grandfather loved painting roosters. He showcased their strength and vivaciousness through using rich colours and broad, powerful strokes to depict their feathers — the crimson reds, snowy whites, golden oranges, greenish blacks. Here is one of his beautiful paintings.