The return of the Yang force after the long winter will bring us prosperity
三阳开泰
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Pun Design ：
Three + Goat
Punning Details：
– In an ancient Chinese literature, The Book of Change (I-Ching 易经) that can be traced back to Western Zhou (1046–771 BCE), there are sixty-four different hexagrams (gua 卦) with symbols consisting of long and short lines. For example, the hexagram of ‘Tai’ 泰卦 is ䷊, consisting of a trigram of ☷ (坤 kun) on the top and a trigram of ☰ (乾 qian) on the bottom. The top ☷ three pairs of short yin lines stand for the earth and being receptive and acquiescent. The lower ☰ three long yang 阳 lines stand for the sun, heaven, strength, and power. The hexagram of ‘Tai’ ䷊ is in the transition of having more long yang lines than short yin lines, marking the end of winter and the beginning of spring.
– ‘yang 羊’ for ‘goat’, ‘sheep’ or ‘lamb’, makes a pun on ‘yang 阳’ for ‘the sun, or the masculine force in the universe’;
– The motif combination of three goats (三羊 san yang) makes a pun on ‘san yang 三阳’, the three long yang lines in the Tai hexagram ䷊, expressing an auspicious wish in the new year that after the long winter the beginning of masculine force will flourish the universe.
Fig 1: San Yang Kai Tai Tu (三阳开泰图), hanging scroll, ink and colour on paper, Zhu Zhanji (朱瞻基 1399–1435), 1429, courtesy of the National Palace Museum, Taipei
Fig 2-3: porcelain cup with underglaze blue decoration, Jiajing period (1522–66), Ming dynasty, courtesy of the National Palace Museum, Taipei
Fig 4: porcelain tea bowl and saucer with gilt and overglaze enamelled decoration, Yongzheng period (1723–35), Qing dynasty, courtesy of Galerie Nicolas Fournery, Paris
Fig 5: famille rose porcelain vase, Qianlong period (1736–95), Qing dynasty, courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing
Fig 6: porcelain moon flask with underglaze blue decoration, Qianlong period (1736–95), Qing dynasty, courtesy of the National Palace Museum, Taipei
Fig 7: gilded porcelain incense burner with underglaze blue and overglaze copper-red decoration, Qianlong period (1736–95), Qing dynasty, courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing
Fig 8-9: polychrome-gilded porcelain vase, Qianlong period (1736–95), Qing dynasty, courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing, photography by Ales Yeo
Fig 10: bronze incense burner with enamelled decoration, Qianlong period (1736–95), Qing dynasty, courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing
Fig 11-12: jade carving, 18th century, courtesy of Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University
Fig 13: glass snuff bottle, 18th-19th century, courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing
Fig 14: famille rose porcelain bowl, Daoguang period (1821–1850), Qing dynasty, courtesy of Shanghai Museum, China
Fig 15: Canton-style embroidery hanging screen, Guangxu period (1875–1908), Qing dynasty, courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing
Fig 16: famille rose porcelain bowl, Guangxu period (1875–1908), Qing dynasty, courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing