Editing Confucius (section)

===Descendants===
{{See also|Family tree of Confucius in the main line of descent}}

Confucius's descendants were repeatedly identified and honored by successive imperial governments with titles of nobility and official posts. They were honored with the rank of a [[marquess|marquis]] 35 times since [[Gaozu of Han|Gaozu]] of the [[Han dynasty]], and they were promoted to the rank of [[duke]] 42 times from the [[Tang dynasty]] to the [[Qing dynasty]]. [[Emperor Xuanzong of Tang]] first bestowed the title of "Duke Wenxuan" on Kong Suizhi of the 35th generation. In 1055, [[Emperor Renzong of Song]] first bestowed the title of "[[Duke Yansheng]]" on Kong Zongyuan of the 46th generation.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}}

During the [[Southern Song dynasty]], the Duke Yansheng Kong Duanyou fled south with the Song Emperor to [[Quzhou]] in Zhejiang, while the newly established [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)]] in the north appointed Kong Duanyou's brother Kong Duancao who remained in Qufu as Duke Yansheng.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.npm.gov.tw/hotnews/9910seminar/download/en/B10.pdf |title=Descendants and Portraits of Confucius in the Early Southern Song  |access-date=2016-05-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913134503/http://www.npm.gov.tw/hotnews/9910seminar/download/en/B10.pdf |archive-date=2016-09-13 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://aas2.asian-studies.org/absts/1995abst/china/csess45.htm |title=AAS Abstracts: China Session 45 |first=B. Paul |last=Banning |website=aas2.asian-studies.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006175402/http://aas2.asian-studies.org/absts/1995abst/china/csess45.htm |archive-date=2016-10-06 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.asian-studies.org/absts/1995abst/china/csess45.htm | title=On Sacred Grounds: The Material Culture and Ritual Formation of the Confucian Temple in Late Imperial China | website=Association for Asian Studies | access-date=2014-08-05 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://archive.today/20150318220616/https://www.asian-studies.org/absts/1995abst/china/csess45.htm | archive-date=2015-03-18 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248653434|title=The Ritual Formation of Confucian Orthodoxy and the Descendants of the Sage|website=ResearchGate|access-date=2016-05-03|archive-date=2018-10-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025071014/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248653434|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://academics.hamilton.edu/asian_studies/home/CultTemp/sitePages/temple.html|title=Cult of Confucius|first=Thomas A.|last=Wilson|website=academics.hamilton.edu|access-date=2016-05-03|archive-date=2016-03-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160318225825/http://academics.hamilton.edu/asian_studies/home/culttemp/sitePages/temple.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.chinatefl.com/Platform/cityfeature_241_5_48.html|title= Quzhou City Guides |website=China TEFL Network|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304065123/http://en.chinatefl.com/Platform/cityfeature_241_5_48.html|archive-date=2016-03-04}}</ref><!-- Self-published source: <ref>{{cite web|url=http://kfz.freehostingguru.com/article20.php|title=Confucianism|website=kfz.freehostingguru.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313043230/http://kfz.freehostingguru.com/article20.php|archive-date=2016-03-13}}</ref> --><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/2006/Sep/182656.htm|title=Confucius Anniversary Celebrated |website=China Internet Information Center|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914162656/http://www.china.org.cn/english/2006/Sep/182656.htm|archive-date=2015-09-14}}</ref><!-- Incomprehensible due to invalid encoding: <ref>{{cite web |url=http://book.mihua.net/book/4/4190/798538.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=2016-05-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610090321/http://book.mihua.net/book/4/4190/798538.html |archive-date=2016-06-10 }}</ref> --> From that time up until the [[Yuan dynasty]], there were two Duke Yanshengs, one in the north in Qufu and the other in the south at Quzhou. An invitation to come back to Qufu was extended to the southern Duke Yansheng Kong Zhu by the Yuan-dynasty Emperor Kublai Khan. The title was taken away from the southern branch after Kong Zhu rejected the invitation,{{sfn|Jansen|Klein|Meyer|2014|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=GNlXAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA187 187–188]}} so the northern branch of the family kept the title of Duke Yansheng. The southern branch remained in Quzhou where they live to this day. Confucius's descendants in Quzhou alone number 30,000.<ref>{{cite news|title=Confucius Anniversary Celebrated|url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/2006/Sep/182656.htm|agency=China Daily|date=September 29, 2006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914162656/http://www.china.org.cn/english/2006/Sep/182656.htm|archive-date=September 14, 2015}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=November 2021}} The [[Hanlin Academy]] rank of Wujing boshi [[w:zh:五經博士|五經博士]] was awarded to the southern branch at Quzhou by a Ming Emperor while the northern branch at Qufu held the title Duke Yansheng.<ref name="Wilson2002">{{cite book|author=Thomas A. Wilson|title=On Sacred Grounds: Culture, Society, Politics, and the Formation of the Cult of Confucius|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T4XXAAAAMAAJ&q=wujing+boshi+descendant|year=2002|publisher=Harvard University Asia Center|isbn=978-0-674-00961-5|pages=69, 315|access-date=2016-04-21|archive-date=2021-08-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809161803/https://books.google.com/books?id=T4XXAAAAMAAJ&q=wujing+boshi+descendant|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Jansen|Klein|Meyer|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=GNlXAwAAQBAJ&q=wujing+boshi+descendant&pg=PA188 188]}} The leader of the southern branch was 孔祥楷 Kong Xiangkai.{{sfn|Jansen|Klein|Meyer|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=GNlXAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA189 189]}}

In 1351, during the reign of Emperor [[Toghon Temür]] of the [[Yuan dynasty]], 54th-generation Kong Shao ({{lang|zh|孔昭}}) moved from China to Korea during the [[Goryeo|Goryeo dynasty]], and was received courteously by [[Princess Noguk]] (the Mongolian-born queen consort of the future king [[Gongmin of Goryeo|Gongmin]]). After being naturalized as a subject of Goryeo, he changed the [[hanja]] of his name from "昭" to "紹" (both pronounced ''so'' in Korean),<ref>Due to a [[naming taboo]] regarding the birth name of the fourth king of Goryeo [[Gwangjong of Goryeo|Gwangjong]], born "Wang So" ({{Korean|왕소|王昭}}).</ref> married a Korean woman and bore a son (Gong Yeo ({{Korean|공여|孔帤}}), 1329–1397), therefore establishing the Changwon Gong clan ({{Korean|창원 공씨|昌原 孔氏}}), whose ancestral seat was located in [[Changwon]], South Gyeongsang Province.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.qz.gov.cn/English/Recent/201405/t20140519_278510.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150204113943/http://www.qz.gov.cn/English/Recent/201405/t20140519_278510.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2015-02-04|title=Descendants of Confucius in South Korea Seek Roots in Quzhou|date=2014-05-19|website=Quzhou.China|access-date=February 4, 2015}}</ref> In 1794, during the reign of King [[Jeongjo of Joseon|Jeongjo]], the clan then changed its name to [[Qufu Kong clan|Gokbu Gong clan]] ({{Korean|곡부 공씨|曲阜 孔氏}}) in honor of Confucius's birthplace [[Qufu]] ({{ko-hhrm|곡부|曲阜|Gokbu}}).<ref>{{Cite book|title=Doosan Encyclopedia 공 孔|publisher=[[Doosan Encyclopedia]]|url=http://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=1062982&cid=200000000&categoryId=200000185&mobile|access-date=2017-10-20|archive-date=2022-01-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121173837/https://terms.naver.com/entry.naver?docId=1062982&mobile=&cid=40942&categoryId=31639|url-status=live}}</ref>

Famous descendants include actors such as [[Gong Yoo]] (real name Gong Ji-cheol (공지철)) and [[Gong Hyo-jin]] (공효진); and artists such as male idol group [[B1A4]] member [[Gongchan]] (real name Gong Chan-sik (공찬식)), singer-songwriter [[Minzy]] (real name Gong Min-ji (공민지)), as well as her great aunt, traditional folk dancer {{ill|Gong Ok-jin|ko|공옥진}} (공옥진).

Despite repeated dynastic change in China, the title of Duke Yansheng was bestowed upon successive generations of descendants until it was abolished by the [[Nationalist government]] in 1935. The last holder of the title, [[Kung Te-cheng]] of the 77th generation, was appointed [[Sacrificial Official to Confucius]]. Kung Te-cheng died in October 2008, and his son, Kung Wei-yi, the 78th lineal descendant, died in 1989. Kung Te-cheng's grandson, [[Kung Tsui-chang]], the 79th lineal descendant, was born in 1975; his great-grandson, Kung Yu-jen, the 80th lineal descendant, was born in Taipei on 1 January 2006. Te-cheng's sister, Kong Demao, lives in mainland China and has written a book about her experiences growing up at the family estate in Qufu. Another sister, Kong Deqi, died as a young woman.<ref name="Demao">{{Harvnb|Kong|Ke|Roberts|1988|loc=}}.{{Page needed|date=March 2012}}</ref> Many descendants of Confucius still live in Qufu today.

A descendant of Confucius, [[H. H. Kung]], was the [[Premier of the Republic of China]]. One of his sons, {{ill|Kong Lingjie|zh|孔令傑}} (孔令傑), married [[Debra Paget]]<ref name=i>{{cite news|last1=Bacon|first1=James|title=Debra Paget Weds Oilman, Nephew of Madame Chiang|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2595390/independent/|location=Long Beach, California|newspaper=Independent|date=April 21, 1962|page=11|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=June 11, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613031957/http://www.newspapers.com/clip/2595390/independent/|archive-date=June 13, 2015}}</ref> who gave birth to Gregory Kung ({{lang|zh|孔德基}}).

Confucius's family, the Kongs, have the longest recorded extant pedigree in the world today. The father-to-son family tree, now in its 83rd generation,<ref>{{Harvnb|China Economic Net|2009|loc=[http://en.ce.cn/National/culture/200901/04/t20090104_17866318.shtml online]}}.</ref> has been recorded since the death of Confucius. According to the [[Confucius Genealogy Compilation Committee]] (CGCC), he has two million known and registered descendants, and there are an estimated three million in all.<ref name=yanl>{{Harvnb|Yan|2008|loc=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080226170803/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/16/content_7616027.htm online]}}.</ref> Of these, several tens of thousands live outside of China.<ref name=yanl /> In the 14th century, a Kong descendant went to Korea, where an estimated 34,000 descendants of Confucius live today.<ref name=yanl /> One of the main lineages fled from the Kong ancestral home in [[Qufu]] during the [[Chinese Civil War]] in the 1940s and eventually settled in Taiwan.<ref name="Demao" /> There are also branches of the Kong family who have converted to Islam after marrying Muslim women, in Dachuan in Gansu province in the 1800s,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jing|first1=Jun|title=The Temple of Memories: History, Power, and Morality in a Chinese Village|date=1998|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=978-0-8047-6492-6|page=26|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3leAld7M7p0C&pg=PA26|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017235941/https://books.google.com/books?id=3leAld7M7p0C&pg=PA26|archive-date=2015-10-17}}</ref> and in 1715 in [[Xuanwei]] in Yunnan province.<ref name="Zhou">{{cite web|url=http://www.china.org.cn/china/features/content_16696029_3.htm|title=New Confucius Genealogy out next year|last=Zhou|first=Jing|publisher=china.org.cn|access-date=2010-06-28|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161010100750/http://www.china.org.cn/china/features/content_16696029_3.htm|archive-date=2016-10-10}}</ref> Many of the Muslim Confucius descendants are descended from the marriage of Ma Jiaga ({{Lang|zh-hant|馬甲尕}}), a Muslim woman, and Kong Yanrong ({{Lang|zh-hant|孔彥嶸}}), 59th generation descendant of Confucius in the year 1480, and are found among the [[Hui people|Hui]] and [[Dongxiang people|Dongxiang]] peoples.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://culture.people.com.cn/n/2014/1214/c172318-26204615.html|title=孔子后裔中有14个少数民族 有宗教信仰也传承家风 – 文化 – 人民网|website=People's Daily|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819191838/http://culture.people.com.cn/n/2014/1214/c172318-26204615.html|archive-date=2016-08-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://big5.taiwan.cn/zppd/MMWZ/201412/t20141215_8361279.htm|title=孔子後裔有14個少數民族 外籍後裔首次入家譜_台灣網|last=李典典|website=big5.taiwan.cn|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006175521/http://big5.taiwan.cn/zppd/MMWZ/201412/t20141215_8361279.htm|archive-date=2016-10-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://culture.people.com.cn/GB/7158766.html|title=西北生活着孔子回族后裔 – 文化 – 人民网|website=People's Daily|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409143206/http://culture.people.com.cn/GB/7158766.html|archive-date=2016-04-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://unn.people.com.cn/GB/7119528.html|title=孔子后裔有回族 – 地方 – 人民网|website=People's Daily|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828231811/http://unn.people.com.cn/GB/7119528.html|archive-date=2016-08-28|access-date=2016-03-29}}</ref> The new genealogy includes the Muslims.<ref>[http://www.rmhb.com.cn/chpic/htdocs/english/200704/9-1.htm rmhb.com.cn] ({{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }})</ref> Kong Dejun ({{lang|zh-Hant|孔德軍}}) is a prominent Islamic scholar and Arabist from Qinghai province and a 77th generation descendant of Confucius.

Because of the huge interest in the Confucius family tree, there was a project in China to test the DNA of known family members of the collateral branches in mainland China.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ministry of Commerce of the PRC|2006|loc=[http://ye2.mofcom.gov.cn/aarticle/chinanews/200606/20060602462372.html online]}}.</ref> Among other things, this would allow scientists to identify a common Y chromosome in male descendants of Confucius. If the descent were truly unbroken, father-to-son, since Confucius's lifetime, the males in the family would all have the same Y chromosome as their direct male ancestor, with slight mutations due to the passage of time.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/culture/171840.htm | title=DNA Testing Adopted to Identify Confucius Descendants | publisher=China Internet Information Center | date=19 June 2006 | access-date=31 May 2009 | archive-date=12 January 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112213638/http://www.china.org.cn/english/culture/171840.htm | url-status=live }}</ref> The aim of the genetic test was to help members of collateral branches in China who lost their genealogical records to prove their descent. However, in 2009, many of the collateral branches decided not to agree to DNA testing.<ref name=seedmagazine>{{Harvnb|Qiu|2008|loc=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090722140229/http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/inheriting_confucius/ online]}}.</ref> [[Bryan Sykes]], professor of genetics at [[Oxford University]], understands this decision: "The Confucius family tree has an enormous cultural significance ... It's not just a scientific question."<ref name=seedmagazine /> The DNA testing was originally proposed to add new members, many of whose family record books were lost during 20th century upheavals, to the Confucian family tree.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bandao|2007|loc=[http://eng.bandao.cn/newsdetail.asp?id=4644 online]}}.</ref> The main branch of the family which fled to Taiwan was never involved in the proposed DNA test at all.

In 2013, a DNA test performed on multiple different families who claimed descent from Confucius found that they shared the same Y chromosome as reported by [[Fudan University]].<ref>{{cite news |last= Chen |first= Stephen |date= 13 November 2013|title= Study finds single bloodline among self-claimed Confucius descendants |url= http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/technology/article/1354787/study-finds-single-bloodline-among-self-claimed-confucius |newspaper= South China Morning Post |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150403044929/http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/technology/article/1354787/study-finds-single-bloodline-among-self-claimed-confucius |archive-date= 3 April 2015 }}</ref>

The fifth and most recent edition of the Confucius genealogy was printed by the CGCC.<ref name=zhouccgc09 /> It was unveiled in a ceremony at Qufu on 24 September 2009.<ref name=zhouccgc09>{{Harvnb|Zhou|2008|loc=[http://www.china.org.cn/china/features/content_16696029.htm online]}}.</ref> Women are now included for the first time.<ref>{{Harvnb|China Daily|2007|loc=[http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-02/02/content_800011.htm online]}}.</ref>