Sheep and shepherd-boy under a willow

Formerly attributed to Li Song (傳)李嵩 (late 12th-early 13th century) · 1368-1644

Three sheep graze in one corner as a shepherd plays under a shady willow tree. The inscribed title of the painting reads "sanyang kaitai," or "three sheep bring prosperity." The symbolism becomes more complex because sheep (yang) is a rebus for the Dao trigram with three long lines that represents spring. Because the Chinese New Year is associated with spring, sheep are commonly used to symbolize blessings for the coming New Year.