ocean, foreign

洋 is composed of the radical 水 (water) and 羊 (sheep, goat). In ancient times, the sheep was an important sacrificial animal used to pray to Heaven for blessings and served as a symbol of auspiciousness and good fortune; from this it extended to the meaning of vastness. Therefore, the original meaning of 洋 is a vast body of water. In ancient times, foreign goods were mostly transported by water, so 洋 also came to be used to describe things from foreign countries.