With a simple composition and reduced strokes, this painting carries a profound message. As the sun sets, a faint red brushes across the sky. The soft twilight contrasts greatly with the dark black geese, highlighting the deep sorrow of the artist. Giant bodies of geese contrast boldly with their long thin necks looking afar to the direction of home. Instead of the wide-spread flight posture, those of the geese are slightly bent, as if the geese are battling with the force of gravity. Yet they are physically and mentally strong enough to fly home. Jinshi style is prominent in this work shown by bold and dry strokes, which resemble the ancient Seal script. The overall structure is simple yet carefully planned. A stark distinction was made between ten strong geese and the reeds below gently swaying with the breeze.

Shen Yao-Tsu yearned for home as he spent most of his lifetime in Taiwan. Due to the war in 1948, he stayed in Taiwan for 40 years until 1982, when he could finally pay a short visit to his hometown Zhaoan to visit his wife and child. After his return to Taiwan in 1985, he was commissioned by the National Museum of History of Taiwan to celebrate the establishment of the San Francisco International Airport Building. Being one of the biggest in size ever painted in his mature stage, this work is considered as a milestone in Shen Yao-Tsu's career. It was illustrated in Contemporary Chinese Paintings II: An Exploration , Lo Shan Tang, Hong Kong/London, 1989, pp. 112-113; also cited in detail in Tang Jin-Hai, Alone in the Winter: Bibliography of Shen Yaochu , Beijing, 1999, pp. 260-261. "This work was drawn in bold and powerful strokes with a profound and ferocious capacity. The flying geese were used to express his heartfelt wish of returning home, which should be the same to his potential audience, the Chinese residents in San Francisco. The inscription is spontaneous and echoes with the painting: 'Geese fly before my eyes, As the heart of a vagabond throbs. Envy I am for these healthy figures, As I was left alone once more. In this painting, my true feeling lies, Not for fame, not anymore. Far away the Shidu fortress lies, Till the day I farm once more. Painted and inscribed by Shidu Sou in Taipei in the Spring of 1985.' "A similar work Wild Geese Flying over Reeds could be found in Shen Yao-Tsu, Shen Yao-Ch'u's Masterpieces, Yeh's Cultural Foundation, Beijing, 1976, pp. 74-75.

Shen Yao-Tsu devoted his lifetime to art. Despite the obstacles faced throughout his art education, he was persistent to imitate old masters, evaluate his own performance and innovate from what he learnt. Innovation and change were his goals. After his retirement in Wufeng, he stayed in Wanding Yuan to further practise art based on old masters and observations of Nature. The artist mentioned, "Looking back at my earlier works, they are filled with wildness but lack ancient aura. More practice was needed, so I was reluctant to show them to anyone for mere fame." After the Wufeng period, works broke free from the restrictions of old masters paintings. Animal paintings become more vivid, strokes are carefree enriched with emotions. In this work, saturated black ink was used on the geese against the lightly coloured dusk. Such contrast highlights the subject and the rough strokes used. The artist once said, "Well-managed gradations of ink could add colour variations to a painting. Boneless paintings should not be filled with colours. In the cases where they are needed, they should be lightly applied to assist the depiction with black ink." Against the dusk, the geese were painted with saturated ink and blunt brush. Lines of the wings are thick but not sluggish. Extended stagnant strokes after the turns demonstrate the force of the brush. Compared with his early animal paintings, this work shows energy and power through the strokes of seal script. The simplified strokes demonstrate the force and stamina of the artist. Based on the scale of depiction and the animated scene completed at the artist's elderly age, this work, Geese Returning Home, offered in this sale is undoubtedly one of the greatest masterpieces in his career.