Kong Te-cheng () (23 February 1920 – 28 October 2008) was a 77th generation descendant of

Confucius Confucius (; pinyin: ; ; ), born Kong Qiu (), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the phil ...

in the main line of descent. He was the final person to be appointed

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 ...

and the first

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

. He helped formulate and was in charge of officiating the modern Confucius ceremony held annually in the Republic of China (

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

). In addition to Ceremonial Official, he held numerous posts in the Republic of China government, including member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

from 1946 to 1991, President of the

Examination Yuan The Examination Yuan is the civil service commission branch in charge of validating the qualification of civil servants of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). It has a president, a vice president, and seven to nine members, all o ...

from 1984 to 1993, and senior advisor to the

President of the Republic of China The president of the Republic of China, also known as the president of Taiwan, is the head of state of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan), as well as the commander-in-chief of the Republic of China Armed Forces. Republic of China (1912– ...

from 1948 to 2000. He held professorships at

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; zh, t=國立臺灣大學, poj=Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k, p=, s=) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Taiwan under J ...

Fu Jen Catholic University Fu Jen Catholic University (FJU, FJCU or Fu Jen; or ) is a private education, private Catholic university in Xinzhuang District, Xinzhuang, New Taipei City, Taiwan. The university was founded in 1925 in Beijing at the request of Pope Pius XI and ...

, and

Soochow University Soochow University or Suzhou University may refer to: *Soochow University (1900–1952) (), a university in Suzhou (Soochow), Jiangsu, China *Soochow University (Taiwan) (, 1951–present), a university in Taipei, Taiwan, founded by faculty from th ...

Birth and early life

Kong was born in his

family estate An estate is a large parcel of land under single ownership, which generates income for its owner. British context In the United Kingdom, historically an estate comprises the houses, outbuildings, supporting farmland, tenanted buildings, and ...

Qufu Qufu ( ; zh, c=曲阜) is a county-level 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, ...

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

. He was the third child and only son of Kong Lingyi (孔令貽, 1872–1919), Duke Yansheng, by his second concubine, Wang Baocui (王寶翠, 1894–1921). His father's name contained the character 令 Ling because it was the

generation name A generation name (variously zibei or banci in Chinese; tự bối, ban thứ or tên thế hệ in Vietnamese; hangnyeolja in Korea) is one of the characters in a traditional Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean given name, and is so called becau ...

for 76th generation descendants of Confucius. On 6 June 1920, shortly after his birth, he was appointed

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Xu Shichang Xu Shichang (Hsu Shih-chang; ; courtesy name: Juren (Chu-jen; 菊人); October 20, 1855 – June 5, 1939) was a Chinese politician who served as the President of the Republic of China, in Beijing, from 10 October 1918 to 2 June 1922. The only p ...

in accordance with an imperial tradition dating back to 1055 of bestowing the title on the eldest male in each generation of the main line of descent. His father had died before Kong Te-cheng's birth. Kong Te-cheng became the last person to be granted the centuries-old dukedom when the title was abolished by the

Nationalist Government The Nationalist government, officially the National Government of the Republic of China, refers to the government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China from 1 July 1925 to 20 May 1948, led by the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT ...

in 1935 and replaced with that of Ceremonial Official to Confucius (大成至聖先師奉祀官, literally "Ceremonial Officer of the Great Accomplished and Most Sacred Teacher"). At the age of 6, in Shandong he met University of Pennsylvania dean

Emory Johnson Alfred Emory Johnson (March 16, 1894 – April 18, 1960) was an American actor, director, producer, and writer. As a teenager, he started acting in silent films. Early in his career, Carl Laemmle chose Emory to become a Universal Studio lead ...

, who invited him to attend the university.

Political career

The Japanese offered him the position of puppet

Emperor of China Throughout Chinese history, "Emperor" () was the superlative title held by the monarchs of imperial China's various dynasties. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was the " Son of Heaven", an autocrat with the divine mandat ...

in 1937, but Kong declined the offer. In January 1938, Kong fled the Japanese invasion of Shandong to

Hankou Hankou, alternately romanized as Hankow (), was one of the three towns (the other two were Wuchang and Hanyang) merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers w ...

. The Japanese blew up his Sacred Mount Taishan residence. Premier H. H. Kong, also a descendant of Confucius, greeted Duke Kong Te-cheng as he arrived. TIME magazine addressed him by the title "Duke Kung", and referred to his residence as the "ducal seat". In response to talk of Japanese offers to make him "ruler of China", Kong said: "I have never even been approached by the Japanese! I consider myself at the orders of the Chinese Government. I am a patriot, ready to take up arms and fight the Japanese as soon as I reach the age of military service—that is 18 years... my wife is expecting a child." Kung Te-cheng 20051229

He was a member of the

National Assembly of the Republic of China The National Assembly was the authoritative legislative body of the Republic of China, from 1947 to 2005. Along with the Control Yuan (upper house) and the Legislative Yuan (lower house), the National Assembly formed the tricameral parliament ...

from 1946 to 1991 and helped draft the 1947

Constitution of the Republic of China The Constitution of the Republic of China is the fifth and current constitution of the Republic of China (ROC), ratified by the Kuomintang during the Constituent National Assembly session on 25 December 1946, in Nanking, and adopted on 25 De ...

. From July 1956 to April 1964 he was

Director of National Palace Museum The National Palace Museum, also known as Taipei Palace Museum, is a national museum headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in Beijing in 1925, the museum was re-established in Shilin, Taipei, in 1965, later expanded with a southern branch i ...

in Taipei. Kong served as President of the

from 1984 to 1993. He was a senior adviser to the

from 1948 to 2000.

Family

Kong's name included 德 Dé, the

for 77th generation descendants of Confucius. Kong's father, Kong Lingyi (孔令貽, 1872–1919), inherited the Dukedom Yansheng in 1876, upon the death of his father, the 30th

. Kong founded a county school in

and was also president of the Four Clans Teachers' College (founded in conjunction with the descendants of

Yan Hui Yan Hui (–481 BC) was a Chinese philosopher. He was the favorite disciple of Confucius and one of the most revered figures of Confucianism. He is venerated in Confucian temples as one of the Four Sages. Names Yan Hui is also known by his c ...

Mencius Mencius (孟子, ''Mèngzǐ'', ; ) was a Chinese Confucian philosopher, often described as the Second Sage () to reflect his traditional esteem relative to Confucius himself. He was part of Confucius's fourth generation of disciples, inheriting ...

, and Zeng Zi). In 1889, he was appointed to the

Guozijian The Guozijian,Yuan, 194. sometimes translated as the Imperial College, Imperial Academy, Imperial University, National Academy, or National University, was the highest level academic and educational institution throughout most of imperial ...

. Following the

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The revolution was the culmination of a decade ...

, Kong was given a government post in the new government but declined the position. Kong was a supporter of

Yuan Shikai Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 18596 June 1916) was a Chinese general and statesman who served as the second provisional president and the first official president of the Republic of China, head of the Beiyang government from 1912 to 1916 and ...

and was given a First Grade Medal and Sash of Auspicious Glory and the rank of Prince of the First Rank by Yuan in 1915. Kong Lingyi had a total of two wives and two

concubines Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar, but mutually exclusive. During the e ...

. His first wife, Lady Sun (孫氏), was the fifth daughter of Sun Yuwen (孫毓汶, 1833–1899), an Imperial Envoy, and she was one year older than Kong. Lady Sun's grandfather, Sun Ruizhen (孫瑞珍, 1783–1858), was a scholar and official during the Guangxu Emperor's reign. Kong and Lady Sun married in 1888, but she died of illness without issue in 1899, aged 28. Kong's first concubine, Lady Feng, similarly did not have any children, and she died in 1926. Kong's second wife, Tao Wenpu, (陶文譜, known as ''Lady Tao'' ��氏, was the fifth daughter of Tao Shiyun (陶式鋆), Magistrate of Daming Prefecture, and Kong married her in 1905; compared with Lady Sun, though Tao family was rich at the time, it wasn't as prominent as Sun family. She bore Kong one son who died at the age of three year. As of 1914, one of Lady Tao's maids, named Wang Baocui, became the second concubine of Kong Lingyi; Wang was a daughter from a peasant from

Zunhua County Zunhua () is a county-level city in the northeast of Hebei province, China, bordering Tianjin to the west. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Tangshan. Historic sites include the Eastern Qing Tombs (Qing Dongling). Adm ...

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

, and she bore two daughters in 1913 and 1917. On 4 October 1919, Kong Lingyi went to

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

after receiving news about the death of his father-in-law, Tao Shiyun. Soon afterwards, Kong was afflicted with a subcutaneous ulcer on his back. He died on 8 November 1919 at the Mansion of the Duke of Yansheng (衍聖公府) in Beijing. At the time of his father's death, Kong Te-cheng's mother, Wang Baocui, was five months pregnant, and on 23 February 1920, she gave birth to Kong. Seventeen days later, on 11 March 1920, Wang died. Kong had two older sisters, both borne by his mother Wang Baocui. The elder, Kong Deqi (孔德齊, 1913–1939), married the youngest son of Feng Shu (馮恕), a Beijing calligrapher and founder of Beijing Electric Lamp Company, in 1931, but died as a young woman. The younger, Kong Demao (孔德懋, 1917–2021), married Ke Changfen (柯昌汾), third and youngest son of

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

historian Ke Shaomin (柯劭忞), in 1935. Ke Shaomin's

sworn brother Blood brother can refer to two or more people not related by birth who have sworn loyalty to each other. This is in modern times usually done in a ceremony, known as a blood oath, where each person makes a small cut, usually on a finger, han ...

was President Xu Shichang. Kong Demao had two sons and two daughters, and she lived in mainland China and had written a book about her experiences growing up at the family estate in Qufu. Kong married Sun Qifang (孫琪方, 1918–2012), a great-granddaughter of

scholar-official Sun Jianai (孫家鼐), who was the first president of

Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...

, on 16 December 1936. Sun's

ancestral home An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...

was in Shouxian,

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

, and his family's business combine (one of the first in modern China) includes the Fou Foong Flour Company (阜豐麵粉廠). They had four children, two sons and two daughters: * Lucy Wei-O Kong (孔維鄂, b. 10 January 1938), elder daughter of Kong Te-cheng, married to

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Lester Mykel Conger (包雅志) in 1960, and they had one child, George Sean Conger (包尚恩);Shichun Wang, ''儒者行：孔德成先生傳'' (Linking Publishing, Taipei, 2013) she lives in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. *Kong Wei-yi (孔維益, 7 November 1940 – 25 February 1990), elder son of Kong Te-cheng; married Yu Yuejie (于曰潔) on 17 January 1968 and had one son, the 79th lineal descendant Kong Tsui-chang (b. 1975), and one daughter, Kong Tsui-mei (孔垂梅, b. 1970). *Kong Weilai (孔維崍, b. 1942), second daughter of Kong Te-cheng; married in 1973 to Lee Sha (李莎) and have a son and a daughter. *Kong Weining (孔維寧, 1948 – 10 June 2010), second son of Kong Te-cheng; married Wu Ya (吳涯) on 7 December 1974 and had two daughters, Kong Chuijiu (孔垂玖) and Kong Chuiyong (孔垂永). His children all have 維 Wei in their name since it is a

, signifying that they are 78th generation descendants of Confucius.

Death

On 20 October 2008, Kong was sent to

Tzu Chi The Buddhist Tzu Chi Charity Foundation ( zh, t=佛教慈濟慈善事業基金會, l=Buddhist Compassionate Relief Charitable Foundation) is a Taiwanese international humanitarian and nongovernmental organization. Its work includes medical ai ...

hospital in

Sindian City Xindian District () is an inner city District (Taiwan), district in the southern part of New Taipei City, Taiwan. Name Xindian's name originated during the Qing Dynasty close to 300 years ago. According to legend, a person named Lin and others ...

. He acquired

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

and

sepsis Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage of sepsis is followed by suppression of the immune system. Common signs and s ...

when he arrived at the emergency department. Kong died 8 days later, on 28 October 2008 at 10:50 am, of heart and respiratory failure. The ROC Ministry of the Interior appointed his grandson Kung Tsui-chang to succeed him as Sacrificial Official to Confucius.

Ancestry

References

External links

Taiwan Confucian Temple ceremonyTaipei Confucian Temple local website

Website of the Kong/K'ung family (mainly in Chinese)Obituary in ''Wall Street Journal'' Nov. 1, 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kong, Te-Cheng 1920 births 2008 deaths Academic staff of Fu Jen Catholic University Senior advisors to President Chen Shui-bian Taiwanese educators Deaths from multiple organ failure People from Qufu Taiwanese presidents of the Examination Yuan Republic of China politicians from Shandong Chinese Confucianists Descendants of Confucius Politicians from Jining Taiwanese people from Shandong Chinese Civil War refugees Senior advisors to President Chiang Kai-shek Senior advisors to President Chiang Ching-kuo Senior advisors to President Lee Teng-hui Academic staff of the National Taiwan University Academic staff of Soochow University (Taiwan)