Chinese Horoscope - The Year of the Rooster

Date of Issue : 27 January 2017

The Slovenia Post issued a commemorative stamp "Chinese Horoscope - The Year of the Rooster "  on 27 January 2017.

The character for the rooster is found even in the earliest forms of Chinese writing – in inscriptions on turtle shells dating from between the fourteenth and eleventh centuries BC. Because the rooster has been present in Chinese culture for millennia, numerous meanings are associated with it.

As the daily herald of the dawn, the rooster is associated with accuracy, reliability, conscientiousness, infallibility and perseverance. With the dawn the rooster brings light, driving away demons and evil spirits. From as early as the third century, roosters were depicted in the paintings that were hung on the doors of houses at New Year. The rooster is traditionally shown in an upright position with an insect in its beak.

The rooster has been associated with cockfighting since before the second century BC, as shown by ancient written sources and works of art. Members of the higher social classes were the most enthusiastic followers of cockfights. The practice later spread into army circles, in order to awaken the soldiers' combative instincts and increase their desire to fight.

The combative spirit of fighting cocks was celebrated by poets and painters. One very famous line tells how despite the dark wind and rain, the cock tirelessly crows – symbolising the upright posture of the noble spirit that continues to fight for ideals despite living through dark times. In 1937 the same line was used to symbolise the resistance to the Japanese occupying forces during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

The rooster has also found its place in the Chinese horoscope, where it represents the tenth of the twelfth animals of the zodiac. From the point of view of the Chinese horoscope, people born in the Year of the Rooster are said to be courageous, confident, active, persevering,open and honest.

Source : WOPA