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.
BRUSHED OFF: An ambassador to Australia previously said that Beijing does not see a reason to apologize for its naval exercises and military maneuvers in international areas China set off alarm bells in New Zealand when it dispatched powerful warships on unprecedented missions in the South Pacific without explanation, military documents showed. Beijing has spent years expanding its reach in the southern Pacific Ocean, courting island nations with new hospitals, freshly paved roads and generous offers of climate aid. However, these diplomatic efforts have increasingly been accompanied by more overt displays of military power. Three Chinese warships sailed the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand in February, the first time such a task group had been sighted in those waters. “We have never seen vessels with this capability
A Japanese city would urge all smartphone users to limit screen time to two hours a day outside work or school under a proposed ordinance that includes no penalties. The limit — which would be recommended for all residents in Toyoake City — would not be binding and there would be no penalties incurred for higher usage, the draft ordinance showed. The proposal aims “to prevent excessive use of devices causing physical and mental health issues... including sleep problems,” Mayor Masafumi Koki said yesterday. The draft urges elementary-school students to avoid smartphones after 9pm, and junior-high students and older are advised not
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has fired his national police chief, who gained attention for leading the separate arrests of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte on orders of the International Criminal Court and televangelist Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, who is on the FBI’s most-wanted list for alleged child sex trafficking. Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin did not cite a reason for the removal of General Nicolas Torre as head of the 232,000-member national police force, a position he was appointed to by Marcos in May and which he would have held until 2027. He was replaced by another senior police general, Jose
POWER CONFLICT: The US president threatened to deploy National Guards in Baltimore. US media reports said he is also planning to station troops in Chicago US President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened to deploy National Guard troops to yet another Democratic stronghold, the Maryland city of Baltimore, as he seeks to expand his crackdown on crime and immigration. The Republican’s latest online rant about an “out of control, crime-ridden” city comes as Democratic state leaders — including Maryland Governor Wes Moore — line up to berate Trump on a high-profile political stage. Trump this month deployed the National Guard to the streets of Washington, in a widely criticized show of force the president said amounts to a federal takeover of US capital policing. The Guard began carrying
RSS