The Year of the Rooster will commence on China's Lunar New Year's Day, on February 9, 2005.

The Rooster is the symbol of the 10th year in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese lunar calendar.

In sequence, the animals representing the successive years in the cycle are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

"Roosters" are people born in the Chinese lunar-calendar years that begin in the Western solar-calendar years 2005, 1993, 1981 and 1969, for example.

Virtually all Chinese know the animal sign of their birth year and are familiar with the personality traits associated with it.

In Chinese tradition, the rooster is admired as courageous and beneficent, and symbolizes reliability, never failing to announce the arrival of a new day.

People born in the year of the rooster are generally considered to be highly observant and have the ability to foresee outcomes accurately.

As rooster is a homophone to auspicious in Chinese, both pronounced as ji, it is generally regarded as a good symbol.

It is regarded to have five virtues -- intelligence, chivalry, bravery, trustworthiness and benevolence.

Intelligence is said to be symbolized by its cockscomb, chivalry by its claws, bravery by its fighting spirit and trustworthiness by its reliability to usher in the dawn.

Roosters stand firm and proud in the rain and wind, and are a traditional theme in Chinese ink paintings.

The hen, which tends her brood and scratches the soil to unearth seeds and flush out insects, is the embodiment of benevolence.

As for other traits not considered to be particularly virtuous, people born in the year of rooster are reputed to care more about their outward appearance than those born under other signs. They tend to be trendy and eager to be noticed and win praise.

Another characteristic of "roosters" is their gift of gab, symbolized by the raucous crowing of cocks and constant clucking of hens. On the negative side, they may often be excessively chatty and sometimes nagging. As a rule, however, they are lucid and articulate.

(China Daily February 8, 2005)