Directory_and_Chronicle_1842 — Page 440

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Sketchen! The Latest Vontaenus

descendants have continued to dwell in Shantung province, and the heads of the family have enjoyed the ranks of rubility, being almost the only hereditary nobleinen in the empire out of the imperial kin dred. They are called Yenshing kung; in the reign of Kánghi, (120 years ago) the descendants of the sage numbered 11,000 males. the present is said to be the seventy-fourth generation. The chict of the family is cominonly cailed the 'holy duke,' and enjoys all the honors of a prince. Whenever he visits the court, the emperor re- ceives him with almost the same respect and ceremony as he enter tains embassadors from foreign countries. P. Amiot relates that he was honored with a call from him upon one of his visits to court. "He was a pleasant and modest man, whom knowledge had not filled with conceit. He received, when he came to our house, some reli- gious books which we offered him in exchange for some Chinese books he gave us." His name was Kung Chauhan, and he was of the seventy-first generation in direct descent from the sage, in all probability the oldest fainily in the world of which the regular des· cent can be traced. In the life of Confucius, written by P. Amiot, which forms one of the volumes of the Mémoires sur les Chiniose, there is a brief account of each of these heads of this family, with notices of other distinguished persons belonging to the house.

In every district in the empire, there is a temple dedicated to Con- fucius, and his name is usually suspended in every schoolroom in the land, and incense burnt before it morning and evening by the scho- Jars. Adoration is paid to him by all ranks. In 1457, Jentsung of the Ming dynasty set up a copper statue of the sage in one of the halls of the palace, and ordered his officers, whenever they came to the palace to go to this room and respectfully salute Confucius before speaking of the affairs of state, even if the monarch were present. But this custom was represented to another emperor as tending to the worship of images like the Budhists, and on that account the memori- alist represented that simple tablets, inscribed with the name of him who was worshiped, were much better. This advice was followed, the statues of Confucius and his disciples were suppressed by order of the emperor Chitsung in 1530, and simple tablets have since been set up in the temples erected to his name.

The writings of Confucius, as might be expected, are held in great veneration, and regarded as the best books in the language. He revised all the ancient books, containing the precepts of the kings and emperors of former times, and left them pretty much as they are at the present day He explained the Yi King, or Book of Changes,

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