On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year in 1920, a luxurious mansion covering an area of 180 acres in Qufu, Shandong Province was full of joy, and everyone in the mansion was anxiously waiting for the news of a pregnant woman giving birth.
This pregnant woman's name is Wang, she is the concubine of the master of the house, she has been pregnant for more than five months, and everyone in the house is looking forward to her giving birth to a male fetus to inherit the incense.
Because Kong Lingyi died of illness last year, once the fetus in Wang's womb is a boy at this moment, he has the opportunity to become the inheritor of the title of "Yan Shenggong".
The hereditary title of "Yan Shenggong" of the Kong family is the glory of being a descendant of Confucius. The Han Dynasty was named the Emperor of Feng, the Song Dynasty was named the Emperor of Yansheng, and the head of the civil officials of the Yansheng Gong in the Ming and Qing dynasties, as well as privileges such as tax exemption and land granting. Therefore, if this child is a boy, he will enjoy the glory and wealth of "Yan Shenggong".
The great preparations in the mansion show the importance of the boy's birth. Red lanterns hang high in Chinese-style mansions, firecrackers are heard, and lights are displayed in the courtyard.
Finally, a loud cry broke the silence, and thirteen gongs rang in the house, representing the birth of a boy who had received the grace of heaven! Everyone present cheered and congratulated the Kong family on their happy son. This is the 77th generation of Confucius, the last Yan Shenggong Kong Decheng.
From the age of 3, Kong Decheng had to participate in the sacrificial ceremony, receive the teachings of the Yan Shenggong of the past dynasties, and learn to preside over the ceremony. When he was 5 years old, his mother-in-law Tao converted a courtyard in the house into a private school, specially invited a group of teachers to teach Kong Decheng to read and write, and arranged for his two sisters to accompany him.
He is a keen learner, diligent and well-read, learning both traditional subjects such as calligraphy and guqin, as well as emerging subjects such as English and geography.
Among his teachers were many masters, such as the educator Wu Boxi who taught him English, and the guqin master Zhan Chengqiu taught him to play the guqin.
When he was 5 years old, Confucius established a special Mingde Middle School, and even appointed Confucius as the honorary principal, so that he had a social status as a child.
The hereditary glory of the Yan Sheng Gong gave Kong Decheng the dignity of the commanding party. He owned a lot of land, was exempt from taxes, and received annual offerings from the imperial court. Whenever the Confucian Temple held a sacrificial ceremony, the civil and military officials would kneel down to pay homage to him.
In the Forbidden City, he could walk on horseback, an honor that was rare among the Yan Sheng Gong in the past. However, glory is never something that lasts long. When he was 10 years old, Kong Decheng lost his mother-in-law. The two sisters married one after another, which made him sincerely feel that he was the only one left.
In 1935, when he was only 15 years old, the hereditary privileges of Yan Sheng Gong were officially abolished, and the incense that had been burning for thousands of years was interrupted.
The life of Kong Decheng, the last Yan Shenggong, became a portrayal of the aristocratic family of that special era, and left a valuable mark for future generations to understand that era.