Having Babies One After the Other

The toddler in this picture is playing a musical instrument named “sheng”, with lotus flowers and pods in the background, implying the longing for “having babies one after the other” based on the combination of lotus and sheng which are both endowed with auspicious meanings in the Chinese culture. The application of homonyms is a common and popular artistic expression in Chinese new year pictures, especially in Yangliuqing Woodblock New Year Prints of Tianjin.