In this case, Jih Ti's mother took it upon herself to instill in her sons the high standards of Confucianism.  Here, his mother is fulfilling her role in a Confucian society by teaching her sons virtue and morality.  By observing how she has raised her sons, the emperor exhibits the Confucian ideal of how he should involve himself with his subjects.  After Jih Ti's mother died, the emperor commissioned her portrait to be painted on a wall of the palace.  Since Jih Ti wept every time he passed his mother's portrait, he came to exemplify the Confucian model of filial piety.

         The role of the emperor is detailed in both the 5 Constant Relationships and in Confucius' Analects.  Several verses in the Analects are devoted to teaching the attributes of a proper ruler.  For example, in one verse the inseparableness between ruler and subjects is emphasized:

We are thus presented with an ideal emperor who is active in the lives of his subjects.  His primary role was to "bring comfort to the whole populace," because he was charged with looking after the well-being of his subjects.  Since emperor Wu Ti was attentive to his subjects, he became the embodiment of the Confucian gentleman.  As we will see in the Relief from the Wu Family Shrine, Wu Ti's actions reflect those of an active ruler, rather those of a passive one.

         Moreover, the relationship between parent and child is also one of the 5 Constant Relationships that define Confucian society. A parent is responsible for raising children to behave properly in society by adhering to Confucian principles of right conduct.  Indeed, the Analects emphasize this idea:

Thus, a parent's resonsibility is to inculcate high moral standards of behavior based on Confucius' teachings.  When a child in turn becomes a parent, he/she is expected to follow the same pattern established by his/her parents.  Through multiple generations, a homogeneous society is formed, centered on Confucian ideology.

         Keeping with the bi-directional nature of the 5 Constant Relationships, the child also has a responsibility to his/her parents:

In this case, the verse explains how a son must care for his parents beyond their physical needs.  People have certain physical neccessities that must be met in order to survive.  Without a sense of reverence, the feelings that a son has for his parents are no different from those that he has for his animals, because he is merely attending to their physical needs.  Jih Ti, therefore, embodies the Confucian concept of filial piety, because he weeps everytime he passes his deceased mother's portrait.

         The passage from the Han-shu thus serves as an ideal model of Confucian society.  Those who read this passage may fully appreciate how Confucius intended human beings of all social classes to interact with one another.