Beliefs and practices involving relics and various kinds of visual representation in the cult of Confucius have long been overlooked, despite abundant evidence that sculptural icons, two-dimensional portraits, illustrated narrative biographies and hagiographies, and textual transcriptions functioned as material elements of Confucian religious expression. Some of these forms and the activities related to them originated in ancient China’s funerary rituals. Others evolved under the stimulus of Buddhism, as the foreign religion adapted to local social and cultural needs. Hybrid forms emerged in Buddhism, Daoism, and popular-deity cults, as well as in Confucian observances, sometimes serving similar purposes.