OVER recent years many fashion brands have incorporated Chinese elements into their designs in response to the country’s booming clothing and apparel market. Such attempts have included the use of red, considered a lucky and cherished color in traditional Chinese culture, and Chinese characters like fu (福), meaning “fortune.”

The Chinese zodiac is also widely reference by brands, many of which have released products that nod to the zodiac symbol associated with each Lunar New Year ahead of Spring Festival. As the Year of the Rooster is approaching — the Lunar New Year’s Eve falls on January 27 — chickens in realistic, abstract and cartoon forms are appearing on clothing and accessory items across China. Fashion publications are also getting into the trend, with models posing in chic costumes next to chickens or other references to the bird.

“It’s even stranger than in past years because the chicken is, like, the furthest away from fashion,” says Sarah Lou, a 27-year-old e-commerce clothing retailer, of the trend. “I have some rooster-element clothes and shoes in my online shop, but they haven’t sold as well as we expected.”

The rooster is the only bird in the Chinese zodiac. Through the millennia, roosters have been known for crowing before dawn to wake people up, making them a useful and lucky animal.

Over time, the animal has also found its way into numerous phrases, idioms and expressions. It is often mentioned in combination with the dog, another Chinese zodiac symbol. Ji quan sheng tian (鸡犬升天), which literally means “roosters and dogs rise to heaven,” originated from an ancient legend about a Taoist practitioner who became an immortal. When his dogs and chickens consumed a magic medicine he left behind, they also became immortal. The phrase is often used as short-hand to describe how when one person rises to power, those close to him or her also benefit.

Another phrase, ji quan bu ning (鸡犬不宁), which translate to “even dogs and chickens are not left in peace” can be used to describe states of turmoil. “One can hear the sound of dogs and chickens from his neighbor” means they live closely and in harmony. When talking about marriage, the common saying jia ji sui ji, jia gou sui gou (嫁鸡随鸡,嫁狗随狗) means “if you marry a rooster, you live a rooster’s life, and if you marry a dog, you follow a dog’s style.”

New significance

Due to its grassroots associations, the rooster lacks the appeal of popular zodiac symbols like the dragon, tiger or rabbit, but modern Chinese have found new interpretations for this common creature, linking it to the mythical phoenix (which is not found in the Chinese zodiacs system).

Many believe children born next year should be considered phoenixes instead of mere roosters according to local tradition, because 2017 is a “fire year,” and fire is associated with the firebird.

In Chinese culture, the phoenix was not associated with fire. Similar to the dragon, the phoenix is a mystical totem said to be a combination of several different animals. The most common version has a chicken’s head, snake’s neck, swallow’s chin, turtle’s back and a fish tail. Considered the emperor of all birds, it is also said to be a mix of various avian species, including the chicken.

“I’m not really superstitious or anything, but it’s just nicer to say I will have a phoenix baby than saying ‘hey, I am going to have a rooster baby next year’,” says Wang Jing, who is expecting her second child in five months.

She gave birth to a son in 2012 (coinciding with the Year of the Dragon), and thinks it would be nice to have a phoenix daughter, since the dragon and phoenix are both closely associated with royalty and considered unique, lucky and high-end.

The magic bird, known as the Fenghuang, was originally a pair of colorful birds, with Feng being the male bird and Huang the female. Gradually, as the royal court started using the dragon as a symbol for the emperor, the phoenix began to symbolize the empress. For example, the crown that an empress wears at formal events, including her own wedding, is called the “phoenix crown.” The crown often contains a fixed number of dragons and phoenixes made of all types of fancy jewels — the number were different in different dynasties, while nine dragons and nine phoenix was the most common arrangement.

The emperor’s concubines also had phoenix crowns with fewer dragons and phoenixes, and less expensive jewels. Gradually, the “phoenix crown” was used to describe what the bride wears at any traditional Chinese ceremony.

The phoenix and dragon are “golden partners,” as they invariably appear together in phrases with positive connotations. “The talent of the dragon and the presence of the phoenix” — long qian feng cai (龙章凤姿)— is an expression used to describe the elegance of a person. “Dragon flies and phoenix rises” — long fei feng qi (龙飞凤起)— refers to when an emperor or a saint appears. “Dragon’s heart and phoenix’s liver” — long xin feng gan (龙心凤肝)— refer to a precious and rare dishes. “Climb the dragon and attach to the phoenix” — pan long fu feng (攀龙附凤) — means to flatter the powerful for one’s own benefit.

The chicken, on the other hand, is a mismatched partner with the phoenix. For this reason, it is often used in phrases emphasizing contrast, or substituted by the word “phoenix” because it sounds better. For example, the dish chicken’s feet is commonly called “phoenix claw” for stylistic or branding purposes.

Chinese often use the phrase “a golden phoenix rises from a chicken’s nest” — jiwo li fei chu jin fenghuang (鸡窝里飞出金凤凰) — to describe someone excellent who comes from a family of low status. Modern people have expand on this phrase and use “phoenix man” to describe men from rural areas who enter good universities, find well-paying jobs, and establish themselves in first-tier cities like Shanghai and Beijing. In contrast, rural guys who don’t make it in the big city are called “grass-rooster men.”

Celebrities born in the Year of the Rooster includes philosopher Mencius, Taoism founder Laozi, great historian Sima Qian, poet Su Dongpo, Prince Philip, former President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai, artist Yoko Ono, pop star Britney Spears, Hollywood actresses Natalie Portman and former tennis player Stefanie Maria “Steffi” Graf.