The Rooster or Chicken (雞/鷄, 鸡) is the tenth of the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the shēng-xiāo (生肖), the earthly branch, or better known in English as the Chinese Zodiac. The Year of the Rooster is represented by the Chinese character 酉 yǒu. The Rooster is a common subject in Chinese painting, belonging to the category of flower-and-bird painting. The Chinese character for the Chicken (鸡, jī) is a homophone of auspicious (吉, jí), thus making it particularly popular among Chinese artists.
