One relief from the Wu family shrine, dating to 151 CE, depicts subjects paying homage to their emperor at his royal residence.  The relief is divided into 4 horizontal sections, emphasizing the building's order and structure which thus becomes an allegorical allusion to a harmonious society based on Confucian philosophy.  The lowest level represents the entrance, where visitors arrive in their chariots.  The second level designates the central room of the building in which the emperor receives his guests.  The third is an upper floor wherein the women associated with the emperor and his guests have gathered.  The uppermost level is the roof of the building, where a phoenix and other figures appear.  With the exception of the emperor, who is seated in the central level, all the figures on each level are of the same size.  They add a dimension of uniformity within the boundaries of their respective divisions.  These divisions serve to impose order and harmony within the relief by alluding to each individual's role in society.

       The order and structure within this relief directly parallel the order and structure that Confucius emphasized in his 5 Constant Relationships, which he used as the basis to define the perfect society^[2].  Two such relationships appear in this relief: ruler and subject, and husband and wife.  Moreover, the division between men and women portrays the Confucian themes of wifely devotion and correct relations among people: while the women have retreated to their proper place in the palace, represented by the third level, the men have gathered in the second level.  This separation also illustrates the larger theme of social order and decorum as each person attends to his/her appropriate place in Confucian society.  Finally, the order and structure of this relief also depict the Confucian model of respect for the emperor.  The relationship between ruler and subject, as established in Confucius' 5 Constant Relationships, is bi-directional. Subjects in Confucian society are expected to follow their ruler, while he is expected to govern them with virtue and proper authority.  Respect for the emperor can be seen by the numerous guests arriving at the palace and paying him homage.  Similarly, the emperor is portrayed as a proper ruler, because he possesses the attention of all his subjects.  This imagery is linked directly to a passage from Confucius' Analects:

This passage thus serves as a model of the ideal emperor, because in the relief, he is likened to the north polar star, while his subjects are all the surrounding stars.  And just as the other stars metaphorically turn towards the north star, so too do we see all the subjects turned toward the emperor.  Thus, the emperor in this relief from the Wu Family Shrine rules properly over his subjects, as defined by Confucius' teachings.

Close-up of the Phoenix

       Finally, in the relief a phoenix is depicted on the roof.  For the Chinese, the phoenix, a symbol of immortality, is recognizable by its long, elegant tail, short, curved beak, and prominent chest^[4] .  In many ancient texts, the phoenix is associated with a good emperor who has received his mandate to rule from Heaven.  The appearance of the phoenix in this relief shows that the ruler is just and practices good virtue.  The phoenix also symbolizes Confucius ^[5]and, therefore, reveals that Han rulers based their authority on Confucian principles.

       The ceremony and protocol presented in this relief were considered essential elements of Confucian philosophy.  Just as structure and order create harmony in this relief, so too were they required to achieve a harmonious society.