The Five Oxen () or Wuniu tu, is a hand scroll painting on paper by Han Huang (723 – 787), a high-ranking official of the Tang dynasty.Xing, C. (2015, May). Prime Minister Painter Han Huang and His Rural Life Works. In 1st International Conference on Arts, Design and Contemporary Education (ICADCE 2015) (pp. 101-103). Atlantis Press.Wenqiang, Yang. "The manifestation of national characteristics in Chinese painting." (2021). It is celebrated as one of the oldest surviving paper scroll paintings of note by an identified artist in Chinese art history, and it is in the permanent collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing.Jang, S. J. Y. (1992). ox-herding Painting in the Sung Dynasty. Artibus Asiae, 52(1/2), 54-93.
The painting was owned, written about, and commented by many notable figures throughout history, including Emperor Gaozong of Song, Emperor Huizong of Song, and artists like Zhao Mengfu, Xiang Yuanbian and Jin Nong, and then was later owned by the Qianlong Emperor (presented to him on his birthday in 1752). The painting has the seals, inscriptions and colophons of 14 renowned artists.Chu-Sheng, H., & Yi-Hsiu, T. (2025). "Tracing the Context of the Textual Field from the Framework of "Integrating Calligraphy into Painting"." International Journal of Language, Literature and Culture, 5(6), 46–55. https://doi.org/10.22161/ijllc.5.6.7
Historical reception The painting was positively received by numerous well-known figures, such as the Tang dynasty writer Zhu Jingyuan (朱景元). In his 9th century text Tangchao Minghua Lu (唐朝名畫錄; written approximately from 840 to 843), Zhu writes "Duke Jin [Han Huang] was able to master their [animals'] subtlety ... it is above the finest of all works." Lu You of the Southern Song dynasty writes in his Weinan Wenji (渭南文集) that Han's masterful oxen painting had reminded him of the peaceful rural life that he had "lost all contact with" after taking a position in the government.《渭南文集》:「跋韓晉公牛」中說：「韓晉公畫牛雲，予居鏡湖北渚，每見村童牧牛於風林煙草之間，便覺身在圖畫，自奉詔紬史，逾年不復見此，寢飯皆無味。」
Zhao Mengfu of the Yuan dynasty describes the painting as "possessing a spirit that is unyielding. It is a masterpiece rarely seen in the world."趙孟頫：五牛圖，神氣磊落，稀世名筆也。 Zhu Yizun of the early Qing dynasty, in his book Pushu tingji (曝書亭集), writes of the Five Oxen "this masterpiece stands as a brilliant testament to artistic genius and its miraculous survival through time."朱彝尊《曝書亭集》:五牛圖眞氣豁我眸晋公諳燮理體物固能優郭椒丁櫟輩飲降各自由宣和購遺蹟已詫不可求何期白石爛此圗翻得留。 Jin Nong writes "the more one gazes upon this painting, the more its wonders unfold; it is, in truth, a work of sublime genius."金農：「愈見愈妙，真神品也。」
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