Text/Lingshi
In the long history of China's 5,000 years, there are sages Confucius and wu have loyal and righteous Guan Yu, which can be described as a model of Chinese culture and martial arts. Today we will talk about the descendants of the sage Confucius and look at the rise and fall of the Confucius family.
The "History of Confucius's Family" records that after Confucius's death, the Lu kingdom sacrificed his tomb for generations, and his grandson Zisi was an important inheritor of Confucianism, and wrote the book "Zhongyong".
Zi Si's descendant Zi Shen served as State Minister of Wei, and Zi Shen's son Kong Bao served as a doctor under Chen Sheng and planned the famous "Lubi Book Collection" incident.
The so-called "Lubi Collection", that is, when Qin Shi Huang burned the Book of the Hundred Families, Kong Kui built The Analects, Filial Piety, Shang Shu and other Confucian classics in the walls of Confucius's former residence, so he was spared. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Later Han Dynasty, Liu Yu, the King of Lu, expanded the palace and demolished the former residence of Confucius, and these pamphlets reappeared.
Kong Bao's younger brother Zi Xiang served as a doctor during the reign of Emperor Hui of Han, and Zi Xiang's descendant Kong Anguo served as a doctor during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han and was favored by Emperor Wu of Han.
From the death of Confucius to the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, where Sima Qian lived, the fate of each generation of the Qufu Kong clan was closely related to the large social background. This made Sima Qian can't help but sigh that the number of people in the world, from kings to sages, is not small, but often they are prominent in life, and they are no longer well-known after death. And Confucius, as a cloth cloth has been passed down for more than ten generations, is jointly respected by scholars in the world, which can really be described as the most holy teacher.
After Sima Qian, the courtesies of successive dynasties to kong's descendants continued. During the Han and Yuan Dynasties, Confucius's descendant Kong Ba was crowned marquis of Baocheng, and Kong Yimen officially received hereditary titles.
After Cao Wei, the title of Marquis of Chucheng successively had different titles such as Zongsheng, Fengsheng, Chongsheng, Gongsheng, and Baosheng, but all of them were hereditary by the descendants of the Gong clan of Qufu.
During the first year of the Tang Dynasty, Tang Xuanzong Li Longji officially crowned Confucius as the Prince of Wenxuan, and at the same time changed the title of Marquis of Xuan to Duke Wenxuan, and the title was raised by one level, inherited by Confucius's thirty-eighth grandson Kong Weixuan.
During the reign of Emperor Wenzong of Song, he changed the name of Duke Xuan of Wen to Duke of Yansheng and succeeded to the throne with The 46th Grandson of Confucius, Emperor Kongzong. The name of Yan Sheng Gong was used until the Republic of China period.
During the Song-Jin War, Kong Duanyou, the Duke of Yansheng, followed Emperor Gaozong of Song to the south and settled in Quzhou, Zhejiang. In order to win over the Han Chinese, Jin Xizong also crowned Confucius's forty-ninth grandson Kong Fan, who remained in the north, as the Duke of Yansheng, and the Confucius Government was divided into two sects, the North and the South.
After the fall of the Jin Dynasty, Kong Yuancuo, the Duke of Northern Zongyan, returned to Mongolia and continued to serve as a Shenggong, until after the Yuan Dynasty unified China, Kong Su, the Duke of Southern Zongyan, went north to Dadu in 1282 AD, met with Yuan Shizu, and was entrusted with the corresponding position.
After Kong Su's death, Emperor Nanzong of Kong province no longer held the position of Duke of Yansheng and focused on presiding over the sacrifice activities of the Confucius Temple in Quzhou, where the incense has always been very vigorous.
In addition to Yan Sheng Gong, since the Song Dynasty, the position of Qufu Zhi County has often been hereditary by the sons of Kong, and in the Yuan Dynasty, there was a clear stipulation that Qufu Zhi County was held by a descendant of Kong, and at the same time, the rank of Yan Sheng Gong was raised to Sanpin.
During the Ming Dynasty, it was even raised to Yipin, and in addition to Qufu Zhi County being hereditary by the descendants of the Kong clan, it was also exempted from all the servitude of the descendants of the Kong clan. The Qing Dynasty continued the policies of the Ming Dynasty and gave preferential treatment to the descendants of the Kong clan. After the Xinhai Revolution, the position of Yan Sheng Gong was retained until 1935, when the National Government changed Yan Sheng Gong to a worship official.
In addition, the literary scholar Kong Rong at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty classicist Kong Yingda, and the Qing Dynasty literary scholar Kong Shangren are also well known as the descendants of Confucius. The Confucian school's Great Sons, Mencius, Zhu Xi, Ercheng and other Confucius post-Confucian studies also continued to continue the vitality of Confucius thought with their own knowledge and wisdom.