A high percentage of Sanyu's work – whether in oils, watercolors, or woodblock prints – has horses as its subject matter, reflecting his passion for the animal. He often visited the zoo to admire the animals, and his pet name for his wife was "Ma" (which sounds the same as the word for "horse" in Mandarin Chinese). Many of Sanyu's paintings of flowers show the influence of Sung Dynasty art, particularly Song era silk tapestries. Clearly, despite the fact that Sanyu moved to France at an early age and subsequently spent most of his life there, the influence of traditional Chinese culture, and particularly the art of the Sung Dynasty, can still be seen in his work.