About 2 million people are now recognized as descendants of Confucius, more than tripling the size of the celebrated Chinese philosopher’s family tree, state media reported yesterday.
The new list, which includes ethnic minorities, women and overseas relatives for the first time, was unveiled on Thursday in the thinker’s hometown Qufu in Shandong Province to coincide with the 2,560th anniversary of his birth, the Global Times said.
The family tree — believed to be the biggest in the world — was last updated in 1937, and had only 560,000 members, according to the Confucius Genealogy Compilation Committee, the report said.
FAMILY BONDS
“It is not only important for academic research, but also valuable in helping Confucius descendants around the world discover their ancestors and strengthen family bonds,” said Kong Deyong, a 77th generation descendant of the philosopher who is known as Kong Fuzi in China.
Kong, who heads the International Confucius Association, said he was glad that gender, religion and nationality were no longer factors in determining which descendants were counted.
“Even if many descendants are no longer Han or without Chinese nationality, we should count them in because we are one big family,” the Global Times quoted him as saying.
EXCITING
Kong Dejun, a teacher at Cambridge University, said her inclusion in the family tree — which has 43,000 pages and is bound in 80 books — was the “most exciting moment” of her life.
“In terms of genes, Confucius’ blood is flowing in our body,” Xinhua news agency quoted her as saying.
Extensive research was carried out in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and across Southeast Asia to find the descendants, Kong Deyong told the paper.
Previous reports said each person had paid a five-yuan (US$0.75) fee to register for inclusion in the family tree.
The ancient teachings of Confucius (551BC-479BC), centring on peace and social harmony, have enjoyed a renaissance in recent years, after being suppressed in Maoist China.
OUTRAGE: The former strongman was accused of corruption and responsibility for the killings of hundreds of thousands of political opponents during his time in office Indonesia yesterday awarded the title of national hero to late president Suharto, provoking outrage from rights groups who said the move was an attempt to whitewash decades of human rights abuses and corruption that took place during his 32 years in power. Suharto was a US ally during the Cold War who presided over decades of authoritarian rule, during which up to 1 million political opponents were killed, until he was toppled by protests in 1998. He was one of 10 people recognized by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in a televised ceremony held at the presidential palace in Jakarta to mark National
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday vowed that those behind bogus flood control projects would be arrested before Christmas, days after deadly back-to-back typhoons left swathes of the country underwater. Scores of construction firm owners, government officials and lawmakers — including Marcos’ cousin congressman — have been accused of pocketing funds for substandard or so-called “ghost” infrastructure projects. The Philippine Department of Finance has estimated the nation’s economy lost up to 118.5 billion pesos (US$2 billion) since 2023 due to corruption in flood control projects. Criminal cases against most of the people implicated are nearly complete, Marcos told reporters. “We don’t file cases for
Ecuadorans are today to vote on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and the drafting of a new constitution that could give the country’s president more power. Voters are to decide on the presence of foreign military bases, which have been banned on Ecuadoran soil since 2008. A “yes” vote would likely bring the return of the US military to the Manta air base on the Pacific coast — once a hub for US anti-drug operations. Other questions concern ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers and creating an elected body that would
LANDMARK: After first meeting Trump in Riyadh in May, al-Sharaa’s visit to the White House today would be the first by a Syrian leader since the country’s independence Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in the US on Saturday for a landmark official visit, his country’s state news agency SANA reported, a day after Washington removed him from a terrorism blacklist. Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted long-time former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad late last year, is due to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House today. It is the first such visit by a Syrian president since the country’s independence in 1946, according to analysts. The interim leader met Trump for the first time in Riyadh during the US president’s regional tour in May. US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack earlier
RSS