The Kongs of Qufu: The Descendants of Confucius in Late Imperial China

by Christopher S. Agnew

Overview

The city of Qufu, in north China’s Shandong Province, is famous as the hometown of Kong Qiu (551–479 BCE)—known as Confucius in English and as Kongzi or Kong Fuzi in Chinese. In The Kongs of Qufu, Christopher Agnew chronicles the history of the sage’s direct descendants from the inception of the hereditary title Duke for Fulfilling the Sage in 1055 CE through its dissolution in 1935, after the fall of China’s dynastic system in 1911.

Drawing on archival materials, Agnew reveals how a kinship group used genealogical privilege to shape Chinese social and economic history. The Kongs’ power under a hereditary dukedom enabled them to oversee agricultural labor, dominate rural markets, and profit from commercial enterprises. The Kongs of Qufu demonstrates that the ducal institution and Confucian ritual were both a means to reproduce existing social hierarchies and a potential site of conflict and subversion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780295745947
Publisher:	University of Washington Press
Publication date:	09/23/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	19 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Christopher S. Agnew is associate professor of history at the University of Dayton.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Chronology of Dynasties xi

Introduction 3

Chapter 1 Inventing the Dukedom 16

Chapter 2 Estate Expansion and Ducal Power 33

Chapter 3 Savage Tigers 53

Chapter 4 The Duke and the Magistrate 72

Chapter 5 Inscribing the Past 102

Chapter 6 Ritual and Power 133

Chapter 7 The Fall of Imperial China and the End of the Dukedom 162

Conclusion 183

Appendix 1 Ducal Succession in the Song, Jin, and Yuan Dynasties 189

Appendix 2 Ducal Succession in the Ming, Qing, and Republican Eras 191

Chinese Character Glossary 193

Notes 197

Bibliography 219

Index 231

What People are Saying About This

James Flath

"Christopher Agnew delivers a cast of extraordinary characters and a litany of compelling stories in this study of China’s most notable lineage. The Kong family’s millennium-long quest to establish or “invent” a noble ancestry, and to use that construct to exert territorial control is by no means typical of Chinese kinship organizations. Yet Agnew merges that family experience with the institutional history of late-imperial China to provide us with remarkable new insights into the vagaries and processes of both regional and state power."

R. Kent Guy

"This is a meticulously documented social history. Professor Agnew shows how the Kongs deployed their considerable social, economic, political and cultural capital to sustain their estates in western Shandong for over 700 years. The book will appeal to anyone in early modern or modern history concerned about the Kong family or the state."

Evelyn S. Rawski

"This groundbreaking study of the Yansheng Dukes brings together the scattered primary and secondary literature on a unique descent group that was a part of the elite stratum of Chinese society over a period encompassing multiple dynasties. Agnew does a good job of placing the vacillating fortunes of the Kongs within a broader backdrop of events occurring on the empire-wide, regional, and local levels."

Editorial Reviews

"In providing us with The Kongs of Qufu, Agnew has afforded us with most thoroughgoing insight available to date on what is probably China’s most conspicuous saga in genealogical identity construction, offering us an extraordinarily detailed near-insider’s perspective on the self-perceived necessity of single lineage—over the course of generations—for distinguishing between “us” and “them.”"

China Review International

08/02/2019

Using archival Kong family records and other primary sources, Agnew (history, Univ. of Dayton) tells the fascinating story of the descendants of Chinese philosopher Confucius (551–479 BCE), also known as Kong Fuzi. Starting in the Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE), rulers of China honored the offspring of Confucius with various titles and privileges. In 1055, the Song Dynasty (960–1279) regularized this tradition with the creation of the hereditary title Duke for Fulfilling the Sage, passed down to male members of the Kong family until 1935. The duke was granted a vast tax-exempted estate in and around the city of Qufu, the proceeds of which were used to maintain the cemetery and temple of Confucius and finance the performance of rituals associated with that sacred city. The duke's office was an unusual situation in the Chinese imperial bureaucracy, which resulted in conflicts over competing jurisdictions with local county magistrates. The author offers a thorough exploration of how the Kong family managed interfamily disputes and the changing political landscape throughout the centuries. VERDICT An enjoyable read that sheds light on Chinese feudal arrangements of the late imperial era. Highly recommended for all Chinese history enthusiasts.—Joshua Wallace, Tarleton State Univ. Lib. Stephenville, TX

Library Journal

"Agnew’s reliable and well-written book provides a fresh glance at the role of Confucian traditions in situations of social turmoil in Late Imperial China. His matter-of-fact approach reveals the contradictions that in the past have characterized Confucianism and continue to do so."

Religious Studies Review

"Agnew’s book is impressive in its chronological and thematic scope, and he makes persuasive arguments about economic, political, and social factors thatshaped the history of the Kong ducal establishment."

Journal of Chinese Studies

"As Agnew recounts the compelling stories of how the Kong family negotiated with the state and regional powers to maintain social hierarchies, he presents the ducal institution (1055–1935) as a remarkable case for the study of institutional history at both regional and state levels. This is perfect supplemental reading to Michael Szonyi’s Practicing Kinship for readers interested in Chinese lineages. . . . Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty."

Choice