Origins of the Confucian Lineage

original: "儒氏源流" (Rúshì Yuánliú). The term "Ru" (儒) originally referred to scholars or ritual specialists but became the standard name for the Confucian tradition. "Yuanliu" (源流) literally means "the source and the flow," a metaphor used to describe the lineage and historical development of a school of thought or a family line.

This page is dominated by a detailed woodblock print. In the center stands an elderly sage with a long, flowing beard and a formal scholar's cap, representing Confucius as the patriarch of the school. He is flanked by four attendants or disciples in respectful standing postures. The setting is an interior space decorated with a lattice screen and a valance featuring bat motifs—a visual pun in Chinese where the word for "bat" (fu) is a homophone for "good fortune" (fu).

This illustration is typical of Ming-dynasty "Searching for the Spirits" (Soushenji) editions, which often paired hagiographic text with visuals to make the divine and historical figures more accessible to a general audience. The presence of Confucianism at the beginning reflects the "Three Teachings as One" (Sanjiao Heyi) philosophy of the period, though it traditionally grants Confucianism the first place of honor in the social hierarchy.