Guo Ju sacrifices his son to save his mother

Stories of filial piety have long been depicted in tombs and temples to encourage descendants to express pious veneration, an ethical tenet of Confucianism. These pictures are part of The Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars, a collection of tales compiled in the 14th century by a devoted son. Although this collection has never been accepted as part of the Confucian canon, the texts and illustrations have stood for generations as the prime folk document explaining filial piety.