📖 Meaning
Literally depicting a golden rooster standing on one leg, this idiom describes a martial arts posture where one balances on a single foot. It is also used more broadly to refer to the act of standing on one leg.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Qing dynasty novel 'Jinghua Yuan' (Flowers in the Mirror) by Li Ruzhen, appearing in Chapter 74. In the novel, a character describes their martial arts stance as the 'golden rooster standing on one leg,' noting that one foot should be slightly extended. The term evokes the image of a rooster balancing gracefully on a single leg, a posture commonly practiced in traditional Chinese martial arts. Over time, it also came to describe the general act of standing on one foot.
💡 Example Usage
他抬起一腿，以金鸡独立的姿势稳稳站在木桩上。
He raised one leg and stood firmly on a wooden pole in the golden-rooster-on-one-leg posture.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 金鸡独立
- Pinyin: jīn jī dú lì
- Literal Translation: golden, rooster, alone, stand
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4