📖 Meaning
A hen crowing like a rooster at dawn. Traditionally used as a metaphor for a woman usurping political power and disrupting the proper order of governance. It is a variant of the more common idiom 牝鸡司晨.
📜 Origin Story
The imagery originates from the Book of Documents (尚书·牧誓), where King Wu of Zhou, before attacking the Shang dynasty, condemned King Zhou of Shang for allowing his consort Daji to dominate court affairs. The text warns that when a hen announces the dawn—a duty belonging to the rooster—it foretells the ruin of a household and, by extension, a state. 牝鸡牡鸣 is a later variant expression conveying the same idea of a woman overstepping her traditional role to seize authority.
💡 Example Usage
历史上凡出现牝鸡牡鸣之事，朝政往往随之动荡不安。
Throughout history, whenever a hen crowed like a rooster, the court would inevitably descend into turmoil.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 牝鸡牡鸣
- Pinyin: pìn jī mǔ míng
- Literal Translation: female, chicken, male, crow
- Category: Power
- Characters: 4