"Shun shou qian yang" (leading away a sheep in passing) means taking someone else's things when the opportunity arises.

"Shun shou qian yang" is a commonly used Chinese idiom. Its literal meaning is to lead away someone else's sheep in passing, and by extension it means to take something that does not belong to you while the opportunity presents itself, often carrying the sense of seizing a chance to get something for nothing or committing a petty theft. In terms of connotation, it is a derogatory term, often used to criticize behaviour that grabs benefits at the first opportunity.

As a military term, "shun shou qian yang" was included as one of the Thirty-Six Stratagems in ancient Chinese books on the art of war, emphasising the seizing of tiny loopholes and minor gains by exploiting an opening. Later this expression gradually moved beyond the realm of military strategy and became an everyday phrase, broadly referring to any act of taking advantage of an opportunity to grab a bargain or a benefit.

In a sentence, "shun shou qian yang" is mostly used as a predicate or an attributive. For example, to describe someone taking another person's property in the confusion, you can say he was "shun shou qian yang". When using it, pay attention to its emotional colouring: this term carries a clear tone of criticism and is not suitable for describing something obtained legitimately.

"Shun shou qian yang" and "xin shou nian lai" are similar in written form, but their meanings are very different. "Xin shou nian lai" mostly describes the effortless use of vocabulary and material when writing an article, and it is a commendatory term; "shun shou qian yang", by contrast, means taking someone else's things when the opportunity arises, and it is a derogatory term. Its synonyms include "chen huo da jie" (looting a burning house) and "hun shui mo yu" (fishing in troubled waters), while its antonym can be understood as "lu bu shi yi" (no one picks up lost items on the road).