Source: NYT (11/14/14):
Q. & A.: Kung Tsui-chang on Life as the Heir to Confucius
By AUSTIN RAMZY
Kung Tsui-chang, right, at a ceremony in the Confucius Temple in Taipei, Taiwan, on Sept. 28, 2007, honoring the ancient Chinese philosopher.Credit Courtesy of Zhang Jingjing.
Kung Tsui-chang is a 39-year-old businessman in Taiwan who is the 79th-generation direct descendant of Confucius. He inherited the title of Sacrificial Official to Confucius from his grandfather, Kung Te-cheng, who died in 2008. The position was created by the Republic of China in 1935 after it abolished the title of Duke of Yansheng, a noble rank in Imperial China given to the descendants of the Chinese scholar and philosopher.
While the Dukes of Yansheng had special powers over Confucius’ domain in Qufu, Shandong Province, the modern-day Sacrificial Official to Confucius’ role is limited to officiating over annual ceremonies in Taiwan that commemorate the Great Sage. But though the privileges attached to his own hereditary title have diminished over the past century, and Confucianism came under violent assault in China for much of the second half of the 20th century, Mr. Kung says that in recent years he’s seen the appreciation for Confucian thought grow.
In an interview, he discussed the role of Confucianism in Asia today, his links with his family in China and what it was like growing up as the heir of such a famous figure:
I grew up with three generations under one roof, in a home full of books. It was what could really be called a family of intellectuals. When my grandfather was alive, he was rigorous in his scholarship, always with a book in his hand. And when he wasn’t reading, he was writing. Growing up in such an environment, I developed a complete respect for knowledge.
As an adolescent, I studied “The Analects” and other classics of Chinese traditional culture just like my peers, and I didn’t feel anything special compared to the other students. Each year, my grandfather officiated over the sacrifices to Confucius. My general feeling was that was a matter for adults and something very distant from me. I felt that way up until a year before my grandfather’s death, when because of health reasons, he asked that I conduct the rites. It was then when I became conscious of my future path. It’s a responsibility and also an honor.
Kung Tsui-chang, right, at a ceremony in the Confucius Temple in Taipei, Taiwan, on Sept. 28, 2007, honoring the ancient Chinese philosopher.Credit Courtesy of Zhang Jingjing.
On the mainland, my closest relative is my great-aunt in Beijing. She’s my grandfather’s older sister, Kong Demao. This year, she’s 98 and still in good health. When I went to Qufu in 2011, I made a trip to Beijing to see her, and I saw her again this May. Now we’re in close touch.
Although mainland China has emerged from a period of questioning and denial of Confucianism, with social development, people’s growing awareness of Confucianism’s meaning and value for modern society, the revival of Confucianism in mainland China is already commonplace. From the situation on the mainland, you can see, after undergoing more than a century of attacks, Confucian culture is in the midst of a revival. Confucianism has a great influence on elevating people’s spiritual qualities, and can help raise the level of morality and construct a harmonious society.
In addition, from a global perspective, some ideas of Confucianism, such as “Do not do unto others what you do not wish done to yourself,” the unity of heaven and earth, people as the foundation and so on are now receiving more cross-cultural recognition as fundamental values that can help solve international conflict, the ecological crisis and other serious modern problems.
Likewise with the Sacrificial Official to Confucius, for which the Republic of China in 2009 modified the regulations on inheritance of the position. Under the rules of the “Points on the Sacrificial Offers and Commemorations of the Greatly Accomplished and Most Sacred Teacher Confucius,” the Sacrificial Official to Confucius is inherited by Confucius’ descendants. The person who inherits the position must be surnamed Kung. This rule stipulates if there is no male descendant who can take up the position, then a female descendant can take it.