The Chinese name for rooster or chicken is ji 鸡, which is a pun on ji 吉 ‘good fortune’. ‘Da’ is the Chinese adjective for ‘big’ and ‘da ji’ literally means ‘large rooster’ but puns on ‘great luck’.

Thus, these paintings convey the message ‘May you enjoy imminent good fortune’. It can be used on many social occasions where people wish the receiver to enjoy good fortune.

Related Pun Pictures:

May everything fare fabulously in your family 室上大吉

May you be blessed by good luck in all you do 百吉

Related motif:

Rooster 公鸡

• Fig 1: colour on paper, 大吉图, Yu Fei-An (于非闇1889–1959), 1935, courtesy of Rong Bao Auction House, 2005

  Fig 2: porcelain dish, Yongzheng period (1723–35), Qing dynasty, courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

  Fig 3: famille rose double-gourd shaped vase, Qianlong period (1736–95), Qing dynasty, courtesy of Shanghai Museum, China

  Fig 4: painted enamel double-gourd shaped vase, 18^th century, courtesy of Cohen and Cohen, Chinese Export Porcelain and Oriental Art (Baroque and Roll; November 2015)

  Fig 5: gourd shaped lacquer vase, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), courtesy of the National Palace Museum, Taipei