Abstract There are thirty groups of
figures of "24 Filial Sons" carved or painted in more than ten tombs of the Song and
Jin at Gansu. ln China the stories of filial sons first appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period. Later the name "24 Filial sans" was given in the Five Dynasty. And then Guo Jujing in Yuan Dynasty wrote the book "24 Filial Sons" in which seven sons havent been found in Gansu Province. Based on biographies and eulogies of filial sons, Buddhist sutra in Dunhuang manuscripts, murals in Dunhuang Grottoes, Maijishan Grottoes, etc. and the historical data, the authors narrate the stories of filial behaviors of "24 Filial Sons" , Compare and study the differeat origins of there stories. And then they infer that the filial duty culture represented by the
figures of "24 Filial Sons" is the kernel of the traditional Chinese Confucianist culture. In the excavated song and Jin tombs there were great numbers of brick
engravings of "24 Filial Sctns" , which reflected the rationalistic Confucian philosophical ideology (理学) , which was actually the feudal rulers, ideology , and the cultural psychology of the loyality and filial piety virtues of the ancient working people against the turbulant and intranquil historical background. On the other hand, the great number of unearthed brick engravings mark the greatest achievements which the ancient people in Gansu made in engraving and painting.