Herding Sheep, from the album Figures in Settings

Title inscription: 牧羊
In this painting, a man in a humble sheepskin holding a herdsman’s crop stands at the left, his herd of sheep gathered below him. Another man, dressed in fine robes and carrying a bow in a case at his belt, seems to have just dismounted from a fine, well-fitted horse. This man is grasping the sleeve of the herdsman and gesticulating, as if to convince him of something.

To people in Zhāng Hóng’s circle, the subject would have been easily recognizable. Sū Wǔ 苏武 / 蘇武 (140–60 BC) was a diplomat from the Han dynasty, sent to negotiate with the nomadic Xiongnu people. During his mission, Sū Wǔ and his party were imprisoned by the Xiongnu. The others capitulated, but Sū refused to surrender and was forced to live as a sheep herder for nineteen years. During that time, a turncoat Chinese general, Lǐ Líng 李陵, was sent to convince Sū to serve the Xiongnu, but he remained loyal to the Han Empire. Finally, word of Sū’s exile leaked out to the Han, and he was returned to China to great acclaim. Sū became a popular symbol of loyalty and strength in adversity, and the subject of many plays, poems, and paintings.