Cup with long Qianlong inscription, Qing dynasty, Qianlong mark and period, dated AD 1776. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt-blue, overglaze blue and fencai (powdered colours), Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. On loan from Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF,A.827 © Trustees of the British Museum

On one side a boy is shown with a cockerel among blue rocks. There is a long inscription on the other side in black enamel with red seals, including the date of the bingshen year of the Qianlong reign (AD 1776). The inscription reads: 
李唐越器人間無，趙宋官窯辰星看
殷周鼎彜世頗多，堅脆之質於焉辨
堅樸脆巧久蹔分，立德踐行義可玩
朱明去此弗甚遙，宣成雅具时猶見
寒芒秀采縂稱珍，就中雞缸最爲冠
牡丹麗日春風和，牝雞逐隊雄鷄絢
金尾鐡距首昂藏，怒勢如聼賈昌喚
良工物態肖無遺，趨華風氣隨时變
我獨警心在齊詩，不敢耽安興以晏
乾隆丙申御题
Li Tang Yue qi renjian wu, Zhao Song Guanyao chenxing kan,
Yin Zhou ding yi shi po duo, jiancui zhi zhi yu yanbian, 
jianpu cui qiao jiu zhan fen, lide jianxing yi ke wan,
Zhu Ming qu ci fu zhen yao, Xuan Cheng yaju shi you jian,
han mang xiucai zong cheng zhen, jiu zhong jigang zui wei guan
mudan liri chunfeng he, pinji zhudui xiongji xun
jinwei tieju shou ang cang, nushi ru ting Jia Chang huan,
lianggong wu tai xiao wu yi, qu hua fengqi suishi bian,
wo du jingxin zai Qi shi, bugan dan an yu yi yan,
Qianlong bingshen yuti
Yue vessels of the Tang dynasty are no longer found,
The imperial ware of the Song dynasty is as rare as stars at dawn,
Yet ding vessels of the Shang and Zhou abound to the present day,
Bronze is stronger; vessels of clay are more fragile.
The strong survive, the fragile perish,
Hard work is valued and should be prized,
The Ming dynasty is not so far removed (from our own time),
The gems of Xuan(de) and Cheng(hua) may be seen occasionally
Their brilliance and perfect colouring are universally praised;
And among them the ‘chicken cups’ are supreme.
The peonies under a bright sun in springtime, 
The hen and chicks close together and the cockerel in his glory,
With golden tail and iron spurs, his head held high,
Standing ready for combat, as if he heard the call of Zang Ping.
The gifted artist has rendered nature in all its detail,
In a style handed down from former times, yet changing in each successive period.
But in my heart I will think only of the ancient Odes of Qi,
And hesitate to remain abed when time to rise at dawn.
Composed by the Qianlong Emperor in the cyclical year bingshen [AD 1776] 
Two seals: The first, a pictorial depiction of 'qian', one of the 8 trigrams 'bagua' in Chinese cosmology. Qian is also the name of the first of the 64 hexagrams of the 'Book of Changes'. The second seal is the character 'long'. In combination, the seals make up the reign name, 'Qianlong'.