(Source: 123rf)
In a rural corner of southwestern China, a divorce hearing recently turned into a moment of cultural poetry when a judge handed out perhaps the most memorable divorce tool ever: 29 chickens. Yes, you read that right. The divorcing couple, who make their living from livestock farming, found themselves locked in an unexpected showdown over poultry at the courthouse.
The scene was set when the judge laid out a simple solution… split them evenly. But what about that extra bird? Well, here is where tradition met perfectly good humor. According to South China Morning Post, the judge gently suggested that the pair eat the odd chicken together as a “farewell meal” before sealing their divorce.
This rosy plot twist did more than settle the chicken dilemma. It echoed centuries-old Confucian values, tapping into the concept of li, the ritual propriety that nurtures harmony between people and society, even when paths are diverging. The judge was not leaning on cold legal logic. Instead the whole idea, sharing that extra bird in a final meal, felt like a living nod to the importance of balance and respect, even as life pulls you apart.
Digging deeper, mainland news outlet Jimu News filled in more context. The woman, surnamed Tu, and her husband Yang live in Sichuan province, and their income mostly comes from their farm. They do not own much beyond their self built homes. Because they come from different villages, local rules allow them to sort out who keeps which home without a legal tug-of-war. Since they don’t have major assets, their main area of contention was the 29 chickens, 22 geese and 2 ducks that they raised.
Tu told the court that she had personally raised the chickens and felt an emotional bond with them, which she believed entitled her to keep one more. Yang on the other hand argued that he too had spent plenty of time and effort caring for the birds, so the claim was unfair.
Judge Chen then stepped in with two possible solutions. The first was for the couple to share the extra chicken as a final meal. The second was for whoever kept it to pay compensation to the other. In the end, they went with the first option, agreeing to cook and eat the chicken together before finalising their divorce. When the hearing ended, Yang even gave Tu a ride home on his electric bike. The two agreed to remain financially separate but still offer each other support, keeping a simple friendship intact.
According to reports, they treated the chicken as a symbolic “farewell meal”, although no one knows exactly how that dinner played out. Judge Chen later explained that dividing poultry in such disputes is more complicated than it looks, as factors like feeding costs and growth cycles also need to be taken into account, not just the headcount.
This story has been lighting up social media with amusement and admiration by turns. It is not just about chickens or rural divorces. It is that rare splash of lighthearted humanity in the courtroom where we all quietly cheer for a touch of dignity, a flash of poetic justice. So next time you hear about divorces getting ugly maybe think of 29 chickens, a farewell feast, and a judge bringing us back to values that connect rather than divide.