Source: China Youth Network
Beijing, October 26, China Youth Network -- On September 28 this year, Mr. Kong Xiangkai, the grandson of Confucius's 75th grandson, died in Quzhou at the age of 84. Cheng Guanjun, deputy secretary-general of the China Leadership Science Research Association and a member of the China Writers Association, sighed that "the good wind is like poetry, the bright moon is courteous, and the haotian has virtue", and wrote an article recalling the precious intersection story with Mr. Kong Xiangkai. China Youth Network published it today and shared it with netizens.
Great Confucius, the wind is long - reminiscent of Confucius's 75th grandson Kong Xiangkai
Cheng Champion
September 28, 2021 marks the 2572nd anniversary of Confucius's birth. The next day, I received a message from Mr. Wu Xishan, an entrepreneur in Quzhou, Zhejiang Province: Mr. Kong Xiangkai died in Quzhou at 21:00 on September 28, 2021 at the age of 84. Who is Kong Xiangkai? Dacheng Most Holy Ancestor King Wenxuan - the eldest grandson of Confucius 75th. Mr. Kong Xiangkai served as the vice chairman of the Quzhou Municipal COMMITTEE of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and deputy secretary of the party group before his death, so the official obituary of Quzhou City called him Comrade Kong Xiangkai. Of course, Kong Xiangkai also has a special status - the director of the management committee of the Southern Zongjia Temple of Kong's Clan in Quzhou. The time of Mr. Kong Xiangkai's death is the birthday of Confucius, which may be a coincidence in the dark, or perhaps this is what Mr. Kong Xiangkai wished before his death.
Kong Xiangkai read the altar at the Confucius Ceremony
My acquaintance with Mr. Kong Xiangkai originated from a famous school in Quzhou- Quzhou No. 2 Middle School, which is like Peking University and Tsinghua University in Quzhou, which can be said to be a household name in Quzhou and aspired to. Most of the famous townspeople in Quzhou across the country graduated from Quzhou No. 2 Middle School. My good friends Wu Xishan and Shi Zhiqing, entrepreneurs in Quzhou, graduated from this school. In October 2013, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of Quzhou No. 2 Middle School, Mr. Wu Xishan, on behalf of the Quzhou No. 2 Middle School Alumni Association, donated a natural large stone to his alma mater, and wanted to ask Mr. Kong Xiangkai, the grandson of Confucius 75th Grandson of Quzhou No. 2 Middle School, to write an inscription for the stone. After careful consideration, I proposed to engrave 8 words on the stone, "He Tianzhiqu, Starting from the Second Middle School". When Mr. Wu Xishan relayed these 8 words to Mr. Kong Xiangkai, Mr. Kong Xiangkai's first sentence was: "He Tianzhiqu, not from the Analects, I originally wanted to use the sentences in the Analects, but this word is good to use here!" He then proposed: "If Cheng Champion can come to Quzhou, you can meet for a while." When writing, Mr. Kong Xiangkai suggested that it would be more appropriate to change "starting from the second middle school" to "starting from the alma mater", so there is a strange stone engraved on the campus of Quzhou No. 2 Middle School today with Mr. Kong Xiangkai's own inscription "He Tianzhiqu, starting from the alma mater".
On the campus of Quzhou No. 2 Middle School, Kong Xiangkai inscribed "He Tianzhiqu, Starting from his alma mater"
Because of the above reasons, I, an outsider who is neither a Quzhou native nor a quzhou no. 2 middle school student, was invited to participate in the 60th anniversary celebration of Quzhou No. 2 Middle School. On October 25, 2013, the night before the school celebration, Mr. Wu Xishan arranged for me to have dinner with Mr. Kong Xiangkai, which was the first time I met Confucius's descendants. Mr. Kong Xiangkai is worthy of being the inheritor of Confucius's bloodline, he is tall, his instrument is xuanang, his face is like bronze, and his voice is like a hong bell, which is quite similar to the Confucius described in the history books. Through more than 2,500 years of historical clouds, today we can no longer clearly know the true appearance of Confucius, but from the perspective of "having poetry and books in the belly", we can imagine that Confucius's radiance must shine with the grandeur of the Chinese nation. In the body of this eldest grandson of Confucius 75th, I saw the spirit of Confucius.
Mr. Kong Xiangkai is still a temperamental person, the ancient style is not old-fashioned, and the speech never drags mud and water. As soon as we met, he asked me, "I didn't expect you to be so young!" Have you read the Analects?" I replied with genuine trepidation: "I have read it several times, and I need to learn more!" Then, he asked me why I thought of using the word "He Tianzhiqu" in the "I Ching", and I explained to the old man that "He Tianzhiqu" and "Quzhou" were a natural coincidence, and that many talents of great talents went from Quzhou No. 2 Middle School to the whole country and dedicated themselves to the country, which precisely responded to the profound meaning of "He Tianzhiqu" and explained to the old man, and Mr. Kong Xiangkai listened to it and nodded frequently. Next, he examined me about Confucius Thought, and fortunately he asked me how to understand "the journey of the avenue is also the world is just", I have long been concerned about this, so I talked about my thinking from the Confucian Datong and Xiaokang, combined with the communist ideal goal put forward by Marx. The old man listened very happily and said, "Unexpectedly, you young man knows Very well about Confucius Thought!" And said on the spot that after the school celebration, he would invite me to dinner. Unfortunately, I had already booked a ticket back to Beijing, so I politely declined, and the old man immediately showed a very regretful look when he heard it. Seeing this, I made an appointment with the old gentleman: "I will definitely visit you again after a while!"
The dinner ended in a pleasant atmosphere, and as I walked out of the restaurant, Mr. Wu Xishan excitedly whispered to me: "The stone in my heart has finally landed!" I listened to it for a while, and Mr. Wu Xishan explained that previously, Mr. Kong Xiangkai, out of his love for the Analects, had always insisted that the words in the Analects must be engraved on the stones given to his alma mater, otherwise he would not write them. Therefore, he had been worried that when I met Mr. Kong Xiangkai, I would not speculate because of "He Tianzhiqu", but he did not expect that the two of us would see each other and talk happily.
Half a year later, I came to Nankong as promised, and Mr. Kong Xiangkai invited me to have tea in the lobby of Nankong, and I asked the old man many questions in person, which benefited me a lot. This tea story, I was deeply moved by this Confucius descendant, talking about the "Analects", the old gentleman is like a number of family treasures, the head is the Tao, love is very deep, but the viewpoint is not pedantic at all, he attaches special importance to Confucius's Datong Thought, this point of view just gives Confucius Thought the theoretical quality of advancing with the times, especially conducive to the integration with contemporary Marxism.
Kong Xiangkai, born in January 1938, is the eldest grandson of Confucius 75th. On October 1, 1945, Kong Xiangkai, who was only 7 years old, was canonized by the old National Government as the "Dacheng Most Holy Ancestor Nanzong Worship Official", and Kong Xiangkai became the last Official of the Southern Sect of Kong's clan.
"If the present world does it, the hereafter will think it is kai" - this is a sentence in the Book of Rites and Confucianism. "Kai" is French, exemplary, exemplary. A "Kai" character endowed Kong Xiangkai with a special sense of family and country and a historical mission of "Dacheng Most Holy Ancestor Nanzong Worship Official".
In 1956, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Kong Xiangkai was admitted to the Department of Construction Engineering of Xi'an Institute of Architecture and Engineering (now Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology) to study civil engineering. In July 1961, after graduating from university, Kong Xiangkai joined the work force and successively served as a copper mine technician in Shouwang Tomb, Hebei Province, a technician, engineer, deputy mine director and mine director of Hebei Jinchangyu Gold Mine, a vice president of Shenyang Gold Institute, an assistant mayor of Quzhou Municipal People's Government, a director of the United Front Work Department of the Municipal Party Committee, a vice chairman of the Quzhou Municipal CPPCC Committee and a member of the Party Group in April 1995, and the director of the Management Committee of The Nanzong family temple of Kongshi in Quzhou in January 1999.
Confucius advocated joining the WTO, and Kong Xiangkai practiced Confucius's thought all his life and truly achieved "repairing Qi and ruling the peace." After the founding of New China, Kong Xiangkai was first admitted to the university, and after graduating from university, he went from technician to entrepreneur, from college dean to government official, and finally returned to the Confucius Temple, educating society, guiding the people's hearts, and practicing Confucius's thought on joining the WTO with a lifetime of study and practice. In the tide of the times, the eldest grandson of Confucius joined the Communist Party of China in February 1983 and became a member of the Communist Party of China, which also confirmed that Confucius Thought and Marxism had the same destination!
Kong Xiangkai explained Confucian culture to the Kong clan
In April 2000, Comrade Kong Xiangkai ceased to serve as the vice chairman of the Quzhou Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and became the director of the management committee of the Kong Nanzong Family Temple, after which he led the restoration of the family ancestral hall, Confucius House and Garden of the Kong Nan zong family temple. In 2004, he presided over the restoration of the Confucius Ceremony of the Southern Sect of Kong, which had been interrupted for many years, and was later included in the national intangible cultural heritage list, so that the concept of "contemporary human sacrifice of Kong" was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. For more than 20 years, despite his old age and illness, he has been continuously going to schools, communities, enterprises and institutions to publicize and preach Nankong culture and Confucian culture for many years, and carefully created the drama "Dazong Nandu" and a series of symphonic musical works. Under his initiative, quzhou primary and secondary school students' "Analects" learning competition and college students' "Analects" competition have been established successively, and have gone to neighboring provinces and cities. He also actively promotes the cooperation with Hanban (Confucius Institute Headquarters) to carry out international people-to-people exchange activities, personally gives lessons to international students, Nankong study tour has become an important brand of Confucius Institute international people-to-people exchanges, "Nankong Holy Land , Quzhou Youli" has also become a city brand of Quzhou City.
Kong Xiangkai (first from left) presents a statue of Confucius to international friends
In his later years, Kong Xiangkai attached great importance to the inheritance, promotion and innovation of Confucius's thought, and he studied and carried forward Confucianism, rushed to restore the sacrifice of Confucius, advocated the use of "present ritual sacrifice of Confucius", invited Confucius to the altar, and returned Confucius to his true face. Looking back on his life, Kong Xiangkai said: "Over the years, my role has changed many times, but in my heart, the Confucian ideology of 'not exceeding the rules' and 'being a benevolent person' has not changed. As for how to promote Confucianism, he said: "I am a descendant of Confucius, which is not only a glory, but also a responsibility." I will not be the last 'worshipper', and the cultural inheritance will certainly continue. I can't retire yet, and there's still a lot of work to be done. Nowadays, we are more concerned about how to make Confucianism change the established image of white hair and be accepted by more young people. ”
Nanzong Confucius Temple Dacheng Hall
Regarding the Nanzong Family Temple of the Kong Clan of Quzhou, the Chronicle of the Southern Zongjia Temple of the Kong Clan of Quzhou records that in the second year of Jianyan (1128), Emperor Gaozong of Song made a sacrifice in Yangzhou, and Confucius's 48th eldest grandson, Kong Duanyou, the Duke of Yansheng, was entrusted with the sacrifice. After that, the Jin army invaded the south on a large scale, Huaiyang was in danger, and Emperor Gaozong's vassals rushed to the south. In the first month of the third year of Jianyan (1129), Emperor Gaozong was stationed in Lin'an (Hangzhou), and because Kong Duanyou led the nearby tribesmen to settle in Quzhou, and built a family temple there to enshrine the statue of Confucius and his wife, all ceremonies and Qufu, Kong Nanzong was formed, and Kong Duanyou became the founder of Confucius Nanzong's family temple.
After Kublai Khan, the ancestor of the Yuan Dynasty, unified China, he ordered Kong Su, the 53rd grandson of Confucius of the Southern Sect, to move north from Quzhou and go to Qufu to worship. After receiving the edict, Kong Su entered the capital to see the driver and showed his dilemma to the ancestors of the Yuan Dynasty: Quzhou already had 5 generations of tombs, and if he obeyed the emperor's edict to move north, he could not bear to abandon the tombs of his ancestors; If you do not abandon the ancestral temple tomb, it will be against the holy will. Kong Su expressed his willingness to cede his title as Duke of Yansheng to his clan brother in Qufu. Yuan Shizu was touched by Kong Su's spirit and praised Kong Su for "preferring to disobey honor rather than disobey the Tao, after the true saints", and sealed Kong Su as "Guozi Sacrifice Wine". In the first year of Ming Zhengde (1506), Kong Yansheng, the eldest grandson of the 59th emperor of Confucius Nanzong, was also named "Doctor of the Five Classics of Hanlin Academy", and at this point, the descendants of Confucius who were in charge of the Confucius Temple in the north and south formed two different hereditary titles, the Northern Emperor was "Yan Sheng Gong" and the Southern Sect was "Doctor of the Five Classics of Hanlin Academy".
In the 24th year of the Republic of China (1935), the Nationalist government announced the abolition of all feudal titles and the appointment of the heirs of Confucius in the north and south as "Dacheng Most Holy Ancestors" as "Dacheng Most Holy Ancestors Worship Officials". At that time, the last emperor of The Northern Sect, Kong Decheng, the eldest grandson of Confucius 77th Emperor, was also renamed "Fengqi Official" from "Yan Shenggong", and the southern emperor was Confucius 74th Grandson Kong Fanhao.
Since the establishment of the Confucius Nanzong Family Temple in Quzhou in 1129 AD, it has a history of 892 years. For more than 800 years, Emperor Nanzong of Kong had broadcast Confucianism in Quzhou as the center, so that Confucianism could take root and blossom in Wuyue. During the Southern Song Dynasty, six generations of The Southern Emperor Kong clan were enthroned as yanshenggong, and Quzhou also became the center of Confucian activities at that time, after the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, the Southern Sect of kong was revived, and 22 descendants of The Southern Kongs served as academic officials.
Throughout his life, Confucius traveled around the world, promoting his idea of benevolence everywhere, but he ran into walls everywhere. What he could not have imagined was that his doctrine had crossed the river in this way, spread it in every corner of the Land of China, and spread it far abroad. I have been wondering, without Confucius Beizong, what would the Yellow River civilization be like? Without Confucius Nanzong, what would the Yangtze River civilization look like? Without Confucius, what would Chinese civilization be like? Where will world civilization go?
Confucius is like the moon, the spiritual light of the Chinese nation. The essay of the famous scholar Mr. Liu Hanjun, "The Moonlight of Nishan Mountain", makes people feel angry every time they read it. What has illuminated China's night sky for more than two thousand years? Isn't it the moonlight of Nishan! The moonlight of Nishan shines on the Beizong Confucius Temple, and also illuminates the mother river of China, the mighty Yellow River. After the Nanzong Confucius Temple, the moonlight of Nishan also shines on the Nanzong Confucius Temple, illuminating the source of the Qiantang River - the Youyou Qu River, the Qiantang River and the yangtze river, another mother river of Chinese civilization, converging on the sea, and the Yellow River meets together in the sea. Yellow River, Yangtze River, Qiantang, Qu River... Whether it is the mother river of Chinese civilization or any of its small tributaries, it shines with the grandeur and wisdom of the Nishan moonlight. The moonlight of Nishan is bright because of Confucius. At this point, allow me to rewrite the verse of the Southern Song Dynasty poet Du Qi - "Ordinary like the window before the moon, only Confucius is different."
In 2008, the last Yansheng gong Kong Decheng left. Now, the last worship official, Kong Xiangkai, is also gone. However, in today's era, the spirit of Confucius and the cause of Confucianism are still being carried forward and passed on from generation to generation. On September 28, 2000, Kong Lingli, the eldest grandson of Confucius, served as the chief priest for the first time at a ceremony commemorating the 2571 anniversary of Confucius's birth. On the day of the ceremony, when the sacrifice came to an end, the chief priest Kong Lingli and all the staff sang the "Ode to Datong" in front of the Dacheng Hall, and the bronze face of a white-haired old man who had been silently watching the ceremony agenda inside the Dacheng Gate gradually revealed a satisfied smile, and this white-haired old man was Kong Xiangkai.
Mr. Kong Xiangkai was with a visiting group of Taiwanese university students
Son in Kawakami: The deceased is like a sifu, who does not give up day and night. There is a kind of light in the long night, and this is the moonlight; There is a kind of light in the long years, which is the light of Confucius; There is a power in the journey, and that is the power of Confucianism. The light of the moon illuminates the vast night sky, the light of Confucius illuminates the sky of history, and Confucianism crosses rivers, territories, and time and space.
Mencius: Everyone can be Yao Shun. I thought: If we can't be Yao Shun, we must also learn to be a model.
The wind is like poetry, the bright moon is courteous, and the haotian is virtuous.
Great Confucius, the wind is long.
Image source of this article: Quzhou Kong's Nanzong Family Temple Management Committee