Research On Filial Piety Images In Song And Yuan Dynasties

Images of filial piety are stories paintings that carry and publicize the value of Confucian filial piety.It always runs through the context of Chinese history.This pictorial theme could be dated back to the ancestral temple in Han Dynasty,reflecting the filial piety of the owner and educating the descendant.In the Northern Wei Dynasty,the filial piety illustration continued to be popular as a decorative image of the tomb.According to the conception that if someone has the virtue of filial piety,then he/she can communicate with the god,the illustrations of filial paragons began to play the funeral function.During the Sui,Tang,and Five Dynasties,the number of the pictorial theme had declined.Except for some decoration on the implements,it always showed as the image of “the old man under the tree”.Since the Song Dynasty,filial piety has become popular again in tombs until the Yuan Dynasty as an important decorative subject.The image of filial piety in this period are numerous and rich in content,which helps us to understand the decoration system of the tombs and the changes of social culture in the Song and Yuan Dynasties.Therefore,it has important research value.Although the predecessors paid much attention to the subject of filial piety images in the Song and Yuan Dynasties,the overall appearance of the filial piety image is still not fully understood.Moreover,the performance of the content,composition and period characteristics have yet to be clarified,the further discussion on the funeral function of the filial piety image is also needed.In this paper,Based on the 150 tombs and other related materials range from the Song to Yuan Dynasty,we have assembled and identified all the filial piety images.Besides,we applied the typology methods to classified different theme of filial piety images,tried to outline the space-time framework of the filial piety images from Song to Yuan Dynasty.In addition,we have linked the filial piety images to their original tombs contexts,discussed their function,meaning,and the subjective wishes implied behind the images.This paper examines the wrong identification of the filial piety images in previous research,re-examined and identified the filial piety images in every tomb.In addition to correct the mistakes,we have found a batch of new filial piety images,especially contributing to the understanding of the filial piety images in Yuan Dynasty.By integrating the filial piety images and their related texts,we divided the Song and the Yuan filial piety images into three categories.And discussed the image content and the text source.At the same time,according to the image content and constituent elements,we classified the filial piety images into different types and compared their similarities and differences.The typology research shows the characteristics of the filial piety images in different regions and periods.This paper divides the images into eight regions,including Northwest Henan,South Shanxi,Northeast Shanxi and North Hebei,Northeast China,East Gansu and Shaanxi,North Shaanxi and West Shanxi,Shandong,Sichuan and Chongqing,and the regional characteristics and linkages are discussed.According to the general characteristics of the tomb decoration and the changes of content,the filial piety images are divided into three periods,The Northern Song Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty,the Jin and Southern Song Dynasties,and the Yuan Dynasty.The characteristics of filial piety images in different period are concluded respectively.It is the first time that the order and configuration of filial piety images in the tombs inner space during the Song and Yuan Dynasties are taken into consideration.We found that there are common features among some tombs,reflecting obvious regional traditions.Based on the deep discussion of the key text of "Xiao Xing Lu",we try to understand the intention of the tomb build family on the choose and configure the filial piety in the tomb.This paper believes that the tomb build family consciously chose images representing different aspects of filial piety to express or convey the virtue what they expected.Focusing on the characteristics of the tombs in different periods,the function and significance of the filial piety are discussed from three aspects.First of all,taking the deceased as the center,it is believed that the filial piety image is a symbol of the quality of the owner of the tomb,which can help the tomb owner to ascend the Buddha.On the other hand,the decoration of the filial piety image in the tomb may also be passed on to the dead as merit.Secondly,it is recognized that there are different types of tombs for decorating filial piety.In the family funeral tombs,the tombs will experience many funeral ceremonies.In the public space of the tombs,the filial piety not only plays the role of moral rules,but also a media connects the living and the deceased,and in the family burial tomb,the couple’s sitting image and filial piety image together express the family’s desire to convey the value of filial piety.Thirdly,it is pointed out the inherent relationship between the drama performance image and the filial piety image.The filial piety image decorated in some tombs may be trying to "perform" the filial son drama in the tomb,and the soul of the ancestors can be stabilized through such entertainment.In this paper we believe that the revival of filial piety images in the Song Dynasty was closely related to the social revolution and the rise of Neo-Confucianism.The period between Song and Tang Dynasty saw a series of social changes.In the Song Dynasty,the System of dominant family disappeared,and the literati who came from the imperial examination became the society nucleus.With the change of hierachy,a set of worldview which in accordance with the politics appeared,and the value of "filial piety" was highlighted."Filial piety" became an ethical value in the Song Dynasty that was consistent with the dictatorship of the monarchy and was closely related to the rise of Neo-Confucianism.Neo-Confucianism constructed a worldview based on "filial piety" and became the basis for political and social activities of literati class at that time.The literati class especially emphasized the moral concept,and wished that people learn the "Tao" from daily life.As historical moral experiences summaries,the filial piety stories and images became the popular textbook of the society,and finally were absorbed by the people and developed into part of the tomb decoration.Although people in the Jin and yuan dynasties were governed by a foreign nation,the filial piety images did not disappear,but continued to be popular.This was related to the literati who joined the grassroots society construction since the Song Dynasty.Thanks to the efforts of the literati class,the local cultural traditions were passed down.In addition,the filial piety images were an important ethical value of the family.This is the intrinsic motivation for the continued popularity of filial piety images.On the comprehensive understanding of the filial piety image in the Song and Yuan Dynasties,Togethe with research conclusion of typology,we try to estimate the chronology of some tombs.For instance,the age of the tombs of Renhou Village in Hancheng,Henan Province and the tombs of Duanjiazhuang in Qinyuan County,Shanxi Province is revised from the Song Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty.Besides,we specifically examine the image content of the M1(the Five Dynasties to the early Song Dynasty)of the Qingshui River in Inner Mongolia,and it was identified that the tomb was decorated with 18 stories of filial piety such as "Whipped Shunzi","Five County Filial Sons".The filial piety image of the tomb is directly related to the filial piety image of the Tang Dynasty.And it also shows the characteristics of the filial piety image of the Song Dynasty.In this paper,we believe the people at that time were influenced by the religious concept and began to use the filial piety image in the tomb as a functional image.And the theme were further integrated into the tomb decoration system in the Song Dynasty.