SongJin Graves Dutiful Son Image Preliminary

In the thesis, I summarize the findings of filial images in the Song and Jin period, and then analyze the phenomenon of the filial images revival in that period. It is thought that the four factors--the governor advocating filial piety, Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, construct the background of the popularity of filial images. By collating the filial images and comparing them with images during the Han and the Northern Wei Dynasty, I discovered that new contents about the image theme appeared in the Song and Jin period. I inspected Wang Wuzi' wife feeding parents with her flesh and Mu Lian rescuing his mother respectively and found that the examples of the former story were all conducted for the purpose of filial piety, which is not contradicted to Confucianism; however, the formation of the later story is because that Buddhism absorbed some elements of Confucianism.In the following, I research the changes of the filial images. Through my analysis, I found that the changes of image position did not mean that of function and the filial images in the graves had relationship with other images. Another observation is that the narrative function of filial images in this period almost disappeared and the images probably became a kind of collective portrait. In the last, I explored whether the filial images in this period got some new changes in their functions and discussed about the new changes of grave function in the Song and Jin period. Although the grave took some responsibilities for blessedness and safeness of the later generations, the main function of the grave was to supply a space to dwell and to defy or reincarnate the dead. Under this situation, the filial images as the component in the grave system served as the capital and played an auxiliary role for the grave masters to defy or reincarnate themselves.