The poem inscribed on the cups mentions a man by the name of Zang Ping, who lived during the Tang dynasty. Zang was famous for the large cockerels he reared to take part in the cock fights that took place during the Qing Ming festival. However, the youth depicted on the cups may instead represent Jia Chang (b. AD 713), who was a child prodigy. At the age of thirteen he was such a talented trainer of fighting cocks that the Tang dynasty emperor Xuanzong (r. AD 713-56) employed him to train the imperial fighting cocks. The design on these cups is therefore often known as 'the precocious boy'.