Author: CHUNG Yoon Ngan
Date: 04-08-12 18:58
中國姓氏故事 - 孔姓
有好子孫荒成業,---You3 hao3 zi3 sun huang cheng2 ye4,
無好子孫業成荒.---Wu2 hao3 zi3 sun ye4 cheng2 huang.
If one has good offspring one's family will prosperous,
If one has useless offspring the wealth of one's family will be squandered.
A Chinese proverb
--------------------------------------------
Surname Kong (孔姓)
Kong means a hole; an opening or aperture.
The Surname Kong is about 2,700 years old.
The surname Kong originated in an area referred to during the Jin Dynasty
(晉朝 265AD to 420AD) as the Lu prefecture (魯郡). The present day location
of Lu prefecture is in Qufu county (曲阜縣 117.0 degree East and 35.6 degree
North on the world map) of Shandong province (山東省).
During the reign of Zhou King Huan (周桓王 719BC to 697BC), the 14th King
of the Zhou Dynasty (周朝1134 BC to 256 BC), in 719 BC, Zi Yuyi (子與夷)
was installed as the 15th ruler of the State of Song (宋國 present day Shangqiu
county 商丘縣 in Henan province 河南省). Zi Yuyi ruled the State of Song
until 711BC. His cousin brother, Kong Fujia (孔父嘉), was the commander-in-chief
of the Song armed forces. Kong Fujia had a very beautiful wife by the name
of Wei Shi (魏氏).
Hua Du ( 華督) was a high-ranking official in the Song Court. He was deeply
in love with Wei Shi and wanted to snatch her from Kong Fujia. The only
way to possess her was over Kong Fujia's dead body. Hua Du was contemplating
to kill Kong Fujia.
The State of Song had fought three wars with the State of Zheng (鄭國 present
day Xinzheng 新鄭 city in Henan province). The people of Song hated war
and they had suffered greatly because of the wars with Zheng. Hua Du blamed
Kong Fujia for being a bellicose commander-in-chief, causing the wars.
In spring 711BC, Kong Fujia prepared the armed forces for a military exercise
cum spring hunting. Hua Du spread rumour that Kong Fujia was preparing for
another war with the State of Zheng. On hearing that they were going to
war again with Zheng, the soldiers and citizens of Song were very angry.
They went to demonstrate in front of Hua Du's residence. The crowd demanded
Hua Du to urge the commander-in-chief to abort the military plan. Instead
of telling the true Hua Du told the crowd not to harm the commander-in-chief.
The crowd was aggravated further by Hua Du's mock attempts to pacify them.
They wanted to talk to the commander-in-chief in person.
Taking the opportunity to eliminate Kong Fujia, Hua Du led the crowd to
the residence of the commander-in-chief. At Kong's residence Hua Du went
in and talked to Kong Fujia. Shortly Hua Du came out and told the crow that
the military action would continue. Actually it was only a military exercise,
but Hua Du did not mention it to the crowd. The stirred crowd went berserk
and forced themselves into Kong's residence and hacked Kong Fujia to pieces.
During the turmoil Hua Du snatched Wei Shi and took her home. However, while
on the way back to Hua Du's residence Wei Shi committed suicide inside the
chariot. The head of the house-keepers took Mu Jinfu (木金父), the infant
son of Kong Fujia and fled to the State of Lu (魯國 present day Qufu county
in Shandong province (山東省).
Years later, Mu Jinfu grew up to be a scholar and became an official in
the Lu Court. Mu Jinfu adopted KONG (孔) as his surname in remembrance of
his father Kong Fujia.
The couplet of surname Kong is
出自子姓,---Chu zi4 Zi xing4,
望族魯郡.---Wang4 zu4 Lu Jun/
Surname Kong was evolved from surname Zi,
And the clan started from Lu Prefecture.
...................................................................
Prominent persons produced by the Kong clan
(1) Kong Zhongni (孔仲尼 551BC to 479BC).
Yan Zhengzai (顏徵在) was the mother of Confucius (孔子 or Kong Zhongni
孔仲尼). Confucius' father was called Kong He (孔紇) who was a petty official
in the district of Zou (鄒邑). Kong He married a girl by the surname of
Shi (施) from the State of Lu (魯國) and had a few daughters but no sons.
So he took a concubine who bore him a son. Unfortunately, one day, his son
was very sick, but he recovered soon. Due to this illness, his son became
a disabled person. Kong He by then was over 50 years old and was very sad.
He decided to marry again.
Kong He went to ask the hand of one of the daughters from a man called Yan
Shi (顏氏) who had five daughters and none of them was married. Yan Shi
asked his daughters if anyone of them wanted to marry Kong He. All the bachelor
girls were quiet except the youngest daughter called Zhengzai who told her
father:
"女子之義, 在家從父, 惟父所命, 何問焉?
As a daughter, at home, I should obey the father, why ask?"
She then told her father that she was willing to marry Kong He. So Yan Zhengzai
married Kong He, a man of over 50.
After the marriage Kong He and Yan Zhengzai went to pray in a mountain called
Ni (尼山) hoping to have a son. Several days later, Yan Zhengzai discovered
she was pregnant and eventually she gave birth to a baby boy. The time was
551BC. Kong He named his son Zhong Ni (仲尼). Zhong (仲) means second since
the baby boy was the second son in the family. Ni (尼) was named after Mount
Ni where they went to pray for a son. The baby boy's full name was Kong
Zhong Ni (孔仲尼) who was later better known throughout the world as Confucius.
...................................................................
(2) Kong Rong (孔融 153AD to 208AD)
Kong Rong was born in the county of Qufu (曲阜縣) of Shandong province (山
東省). He was the 12th generation descendant of Confucius. As he was diligent
in his studies when he was young, Kong Rong became an official when he grew
up. He was an official in the county of Beihai (北海縣 in the west of Changle
county 西昌樂縣 of Shandong province) for a long time. People nicknamed
him Kong Beihai (孔北海). He was the author of the book titled "孔北海集
Kong Bei Hai Ji".
.....................................................
(3) Kong Shangren (孔尚任)
Kong Shangren was born in the county of Qufu (曲阜縣) of Shandong province
during the Qing Dynasty (清朝 1644AD to 1911AD). He was an official and
a Court Academician in the Imperial College (國子監博士) during the reign
of Emperor Qian Long (乾隆皇帝 1736AD to 1795AD). In his later life he resigned
from his official post and became a dramatic writer. He wrote the two famous
dramas of 桃花扇 (Tao Hua Shan) and 長生殿 (Chang Sheng Dian). People described
these dramas as, 千秋絕唱桃花扇---Qian qiu jue2 chang4 Tao Hua Shan.
................................................................
Note:
Surname KONG (孔) is the 83rd most common Chinese surname in the world
Posted to asiawind.com
By CHUNG Yoon-Ngan (鄭永元)
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