Quick Answer: What Do Sheep and Goats Mean in Chinese Art?
The Chinese word yang (羊, yáng) can refer to sheep or goats. In art, an animal can be drawn from life, give a vessel its shape, or carry a wish for an auspicious beginning. Sheep, Goat and Ram are also English names for the eighth zodiac sign.[1][2][3][4][5]
- Painting. Look at the fleece, horns, posture and inscription.[1]
- Vessel. Check whether heads or bodies form part of the object’s structure.[2][6]
- Group. Other zodiac figures or a New Year inscription can establish the theme.[3][5]
One animal’s shape alone leaves several readings open.
Two animals look back at each other in Zhao Mengfu’s ink painting. On a Shang bronze, four curled heads project from the shoulders of a vessel. Both works use recognizable animal features, but the artist’s brush and the bronze caster make those features serve different purposes.[1][2]
A Sheep and Goat Look Back at Each Other
Zhao Mengfu’s Sheep and Goat, made around 1300, puts the two animals on blank paper. Their heads turn toward one another, balancing a composition with no painted landscape. In his inscription, Zhao explains that he drew the animals from life at someone’s request after working on horses as a subject.[1]
Later collectors added seals. The Qianlong emperor also provided a frontispiece that praises their lifelike appearance in motion and at rest. Those additions record a later response to an earlier painting.[1]
Curled Horns on Bronze and Celadon
A Shang square bronze wine vessel takes its name from the four ram heads projecting from the corners of its shoulders. The necks extend from the vessel, while the bodies and legs continue along the walls and foot. Each horn helps define a corner. The animal imagery belongs to the construction of the vessel.[2]
A celadon-glazed vessel from around the fourth century uses the whole body of a kneeling ram. Its low profile makes the folded legs and curved horns part of a single compact object.[2][6]
When the Group Becomes a Zodiac or New Year Image
The eighth zodiac animal follows the Horse and precedes the Monkey. In a Tang earthenware set, the robed animal figures share a format. The other members of the group identify the calendrical theme.[3]
In 1785, the Qianlong emperor made a version of Zhao Mengfu’s image and added a curly-fleeced animal on the left. The addition turns the pair into a three-animal composition that can express an auspicious beginning. The three rams motif explains the wordplay and its connection to the opening of the year.[1][5]
FAQs About Sheep and Goats in Chinese Art
Are Sheep, Goat and Ram different zodiac signs?
All three English labels can refer to the same eighth sign. For an individual artwork, a catalogue may use one of them to describe the specific animal it depicts.[3][4]
Can curled horns identify the animal by themselves?
Use the horns with the body shape, coat, any inscription and the catalogue title. An artist may emphasize the horns because they fit the shape of the object.[1][2][6]
Sources
[1] Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. Zhao Mengfu, Sheep and Goat
[2] National Museum of China. Square Bronze Wine Vessel with Four Rams
[3] The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Set of Twelve Zodiac Animals
[4] ChinaCulture. So, Is It the Year of the Ram, Sheep or Goat?
[5] Palace Museum. Qianlong’s Three Rams and Essay on Kaitai
[6] The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vessel in the Shape of a Kneeling Ram