Kong (孔) is a Chinese and

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

surname. It can also be written as Kung in Taiwan, Hung in Hong Kong, Khổng in Vietnam, and

Gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...

in Korea. There are around 2.1 million people with this surname in China in 2002, representing 0.23% of the population. In 2018, it was the 97th-most common surname in China. It is the 25th name on the ''

Hundred Family Surnames The ''Hundred Family Surnames'' (), commonly known as ''Bai Jia Xing'', also translated as ''Hundreds of Chinese Surnames'', is a classic Chinese text composed of common Chinese surnames. An unknown author compiled the book during the Song dy ...

'' poem. This surname Kong is most notable as the surname of

Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...

and his descendants. The family tree of Confucius and his descendants is generally considered to be the world's longest, covering over 2,500 years with more than 80 generations recorded, and has two million entries according to its last update in 2009. The main line of descent traditionally held the title of

Duke Yansheng The Duke Yansheng, literally "Honorable Overflowing with Wisdom", sometimes translated as Holy Duke of Yen, was a Chinese title of nobility. It was originally created as a marquis title in the Western Han dynasty for a direct descendant o ...

, which was changed to the title of the first

Sacrificial Official to Confucius The Duke Yansheng, literally "Honorable Overflowing with Wisdom", sometimes translated as Holy Duke of Yen, was a Chinese title of nobility. It was originally created as a marquis title in the Western Han dynasty for a direct descendant o ...

in the 20th century. This title is currently held by Kung Tsui-chang. Kong may also be the English transliteration of a rare Chinese surname 空, or a less common form of the Gong surnames such as 龔, 貢 and 弓.

Origin

The character for the Kong surname was derived from the Zi (子) family name. The founder of the

Shang Dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...

Tang of Shang Cheng Tang (), personal name Zi Lü (), recorded on oracle bones as Da Yi (大乙), was the first king of the Shang dynasty in Chinese history. Traditionally considered a virtuous ruler, he overthrew Jie, the last ruler of the Xia dynasty. Ris ...

whose family name was Zi, had the

temple name Temple names are posthumous titles accorded to monarchs of the Sinosphere for the purpose of ancestor worship. The practice of honoring monarchs with temple names began during the Shang dynasty in China and had since been adopted by other dyna ...

of Taiyi (太乙). His descendants fused the character Zi (子) to Yi (乙), forming the character Kong (孔) which eventually became a surname. It first appeared during the

Zhou Dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by ...

as the courtesy name Kongfu (孔父) of a noble in the

State of Song Song (; Old Chinese: *') was a state during the Zhou dynasty of ancient China, with its capital at Shangqiu. The state was founded soon after King Wu of Zhou conquered the Shang dynasty to establish the Zhou dynasty in 1046 BC. It was conquered ...

named Jia (嘉), said to be a descendant of the Tang of Shang. Kongfu Jia was murdered, and his son escaped to the State of Lu where he adopted Kong as the name of his clan. His family settled in

Qufu Qufu ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Shandong province, East China. It is located about south of the provincial capital Jinan and northeast of the prefectural seat at Jining. Qufu has an area of 815 square kilometers, and a total population of ...

and Confucius was one of his descendants. The Kong surname may also have originated from a number of other sources. Others had adopted Kong as their surname because it was part of their ancestors' name. For example, in the State of Zheng, two of Duke Mu of Zheng's (鄭穆公) sons ( surname Ji) (姬), had Shikong (士孔) and Zikong (子孔) as their respective courtesy names, and their descendants took Kong as their surname. Similarly, there was a noble in the State of Chen named Kongning (孔宁, originally of surname Gui (妫)), and another in the

State of Qi Qi, or Ch'i in Wade–Giles romanization, was a state of the Zhou dynasty-era in ancient China, variously reckoned as a march, duchy, and independent kingdom. Its capital was Linzi, located in present-day Shandong. Qi was founded sh ...

named Konghui (孔虺, originally of surname Jiang (姜)); the descendants of both also adopted the surname Kong. Some of the non-Han Chinese people used Kong as their surname, such as the

Derung The Derung (also spelt ''Drung'' or ''Dulong'') people (; endonym: ) are an ethnic group. They form one of the List of ethnic groups in China, 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by China. Their population of 6,000 is found in the Nujiang Li ...

, Jingpo, Tibetan, and the Yugur people. Various Manchu clans also simplified their surnames to Kong.

Notable people

(Kong Qiu)

Kong

Kong Anguo Kong Anguo (; ca. 156 – ca. 74 BC), courtesy name Ziguo (), was a Confucian scholar and government official of the Western Han dynasty of ancient China. A descendant of Confucius, he wrote the ''Shangshu Kongshi Zhuan'', a compilation and comme ...

(156 – c. 74 BC), Confucian scholar and government official of the Western Han dynasty * Augustine Kong, statistical geneticist * Kong Ji (481–402 BC), Chinese philosopher and grandson of Confucius * Kong Qingdong * Kong Rong *

Kong Shangren Kong Shangren (; 1648 – 1718) was a Qing dynasty dramatist and poet best known for his '' chuanqi'' play ''The Peach Blossom Fan''"Frommer's China", Simon Foster et al., 2010, p. 383, about the last days of the Ming dynasty. Born in Qufu, Kon ...

* Kong Tai Heong *

Kong Yingda Kong Yingda (; 574 – 648), courtesy names Chongyuan () and Zhongda (), was a Chinese philosopher during the Sui and Tang dynasty. An amorous Confucianist, who is considered one of the most influential Confucian scholars in Chinese history. H ...

Kong Youde Kong Youde ( zh, c=, p=Kǒng Yǒudé; mnc, , v=; Transliteration of Manchu: kung ioo de; died August 7, 1652) was a Chinese adventurer and Ming dynasty military officer who served under the warlord Mao Wenlong until Mao's death in 1629. Subsequen ...

* Kong Zhaoshou

Kung

* H. H. Kung (1881–1967), banker and politician in the Republic of China * H. T. Kung (born 1945), Taiwanese-born American computer scientist *

Kung Te-cheng Kung Te-cheng () (23 February 1920 – 28 October 2008) was a 77th generation descendant of Confucius in the main line of descent. He was the final person to be appointed Duke Yansheng and the first Sacrificial Official to Confucius. He helped ...

(1920–2008), Duke Yansheng, Confucian ceremonial official * Kung Tsui-chang (born 1975), Confucian ceremonial official

Gong

* Gong Chan-shik, member of South Korean boy group

B1A4 B1A4 () is a South Korean boy band formed by WM Entertainment. The group debuted on April 23, 2011 with the single "O.K" from the EP '' Let's Fly'', after being introduced to the public through a webtoon. They have released nine studio albums ( ...

Gong Hyo-jin Gong Hyo-jin (born April 4, 1980) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading role in the film '' Crush and Blush'' (2008), as well as for her popular television series '' Sang Doo! Let's Go to School'' (2003), ''Thank You'' (20 ...

(孔曉振), South Korean actress * Gong Ji-young (孔枝泳), South Korean female writer * Gong Min-ji (known as

Minzy Gong Min-ji (; born January 18, 1994), better known by her stage name Minzy, is a South Korean singer, rapper, and dancer. She debuted in 2009 as a member of South Korean girl group 2NE1, which became one of the best-selling girl groups worldwi ...

), South Korean soloist, dancer, rapper, and former member of South Korean girl group 2NE1 *

Gong Yoo Gong Ji-cheol (; born July 10, 1979), better known by his stage name Gong Yoo (), is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in the television dramas '' Coffee Prince'' (2007), '' Guardian: The Lonely and Great God'' (2016–2017), ...

(孔劉), South Korean actor *

Gong Oh-kyun Gong Oh-kyun ( ko, 공오균, Hanja: 孔五均; born September 10, 1974) is a former South Korean football player and a professional coach. Currently he's working as the manager of Vietnam national under-23 football team. Club career He p ...

(

: 공오균,

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...

: 孔五均), former South Korean football player and a professional coach, manager of the Vietnam national under-23 football team

Hung

* William Hung (孔慶翔, Kǒng Qìngxiáng), American singer from Hong Kong

References

{{surname, Kong Chinese-language surnames Korean-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames Surnames of Cambodian origin Khmer-language surnames