宋元時代是有關孔子的若干視覺表現開始形成並流傳的一個關鍵時期。供奉孔子的廟宇中的塑像身著帝王衣冠，享受官府的獻祭，此皆得自於歷代唐宋金皇帝在孔子身後賜予其的封賞，這種常規性的皇帝封賞一直持續到1530年。廟宇中的孔子塑像的特徵並不能反映出孔子生前的社會地位或者他的人格，而此外還有一些表現孔子的圖繪作品在宋代基於由山東曲阜孔氏族裔所擁有的畫像而有所發展。孔氏族人在創造、保存並傳播孔子的圖像表現方面起了尤為重要的作用。在北宋後期，一些孔氏族人開始在石碑上複製孔子圖像，而這些石碑的拓本後來成為了在他處製作同樣的石碑的摹本。尊崇孔子和其學說的士人精英們也都紛紛傳播這些圖像並在上面題詞。儘管官方祭祀中不使用這類圖像，但它們在其他方面很受崇敬。也許其中最重要的畫像是一幅表現孔子四分之三正面的立像，畫中的孔子是一位年長者，身體略為前傾，雙手相扣於胸前而立，且臂下攜劍。在南宋初期時，這個圖像是刻在立於孔裔在浙江衢州的臨時家廟中的大型畫像石碑上。它後來在一些官學與書院中有重製，並通過通俗性類書的版刻印刷而得到了進一步的廣泛流通。這類畫像通常被稱為「遺像」，暗示這個形象是由孔子生前的時代流傳下來的。這種孔子的畫像在後來的若干世紀中反覆得到復興，近年來所出現的從極為龐大的孔子像雕塑到大眾許願用的紙馬畫等各類形式也都受到了這幅畫像的啟發。

The Song-Yuan period was a crucial time in the formation and circulation of several kinds of visual representation of Confucius. Sculptural images in temples where Confucius received official sacrifices displayed imperial garb and paraphernalia related to the posthumous honors bestowed on him by successive Tang, Song and Jin emperors, which remained standard until 1530. The attributes of temple icons could not reflect Confucius's social status in life nor convey his personality. However, several pictorial compositions representing Confucius also evolved during the Song from portraits possessed by his descendants, the Kong lineage based in Qufu, Shandong. Members of the Kong lineage played important roles in creating, preserving, and transmitting pictorial representations of Confucius. In the late Northern Song, some descendants began to reproduce images of Confucius on stone tablets, from which rubbings could be made, and these in turn were later used to carve similar stone tablets elsewhere. The educated elite, who venerated Confucius and his teachings, also reproduced and spread these images of Confucius, and wrote inscriptions on them. Although official sacrifices did not use these images, they were venerated in other ways. Perhaps the most significant of the various portrayals is a depiction of Confucius in three-quarter profile, representing him as an elderly, slightly stooped figure who stands with his hands clasped together at his chest and a sword tucked under his arm. In the early Southern Song period, this image was incised on a large stone portrait stele erected at the Kongs' provisional temple in Quzhou, Zhejiang. It later was reproduced at some government schools and private academies, and the image also gained even wider circulation through reproductions in popular woodblock-printed encyclopedias. These portrayals are often labeled ”legacy portrait” (yi xiang), which suggests that the image had been transmitted down through the ages from Confucius's own lifetime. This type of depiction of Confucius was repeatedly revived in later centuries, and in recent years, many kinds of artifacts ranging from monumental statues to popular votive prints have been inspired by this portrayal.