During the Spring and Autumn Period, King Xuan of Zhou was very fond of cockfighting.

He hired a man named Ji Shengzi, a renowned trainer, to train one of his fighting roosters.

Ten days later, King Xuan asked, "Is the rooster ready?" "Not yet," Ji Shengzi replied. "The moment it sees another rooster, it becomes arrogant and relies on its own aggression. It has not yet learned to remain calm and composed." Another ten days passed, and the king asked again.

"Not yet," Ji Shengzi said. "It still reacts when it hears another rooster crow or sees one approaching." Ten more days passed. The king asked once again.

"Still not quite," Ji Shengzi replied. "Although it can now remain calm, it has not yet reached the ideal state." Another ten days went by. Finally, Ji Shengzi said, "Now it is ready." King Xuan took the rooster to the cockfighting arena.

To everyone's surprise, the other roosters fled as soon as they saw it. Not a single one dared to challenge it.

After being trained for so long, the rooster had become completely calm and composed. It was no longer easily disturbed by anything around it.

It simply stood there in silence, utterly still and unruffled, looking almost like a rooster carved out of wood.

Originally, the idiom described a state of profound concentration and complete composure. Over time, however, its meaning changed.

Today, it is usually used to describe someone who is stunned or dumbfounded by surprise, fear, or some sudden shock, standing motionless as if they were made of wood.