This is the officially appointed generation in the Ming Dynasty. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang gave Kong eight generations of characters: Gong, Yan, Cheng, Hong, Wen, Zhen, Shang and Yin for naming purposes. Later, the Duke was sealed by the 56th generation Kong in the first year of Hongwu and the 57th generation Kong Ne in the 17th year of Hongwu. In this way, ten words were added next to "Xi" and "Yan", namely, Yan, Gong, Yan, Cheng, Hong, Wen, Zhen, Shang and Yin (in the late Qing Dynasty, in order to avoid the emperor's taboo, Hong was changed to macro and Yin to Yan). During the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty, these ten words were not enough. They were played by Kong Yinzhi (Kong Yan Zhi), the duke of the feast in the sixty-fifth generation.
The follow-up cross is: "Xing Yu Guang Chuan, Zhao Xian Qing Fan Ji"; After nine years of Qianlong reign in Qing Dynasty (1744), it was investigated and sorted out by the Ministry of Rites, and submitted to the emperor for an imperial edict, with a cross: "Being blessed and respected, Shao Thought is prominent". In the eighth year of the Republic of China, Kong Lingyi, the Duke of Feast, in the seventy-sixth generation, made a cross and asked the then Beiyang government to approve its publication. That is, the 86th generation to the105th generation. That is, "build a stable road, build a stable life, raise a stable life, be rich in literature and prosper the scenery, and last forever."
So far, the youngest known generation is Qin. So many descendants of Confucius and Mencius can see the size of their generation from their names. Prior to this, the genealogy of Confucius was very complicated, and this method of selecting characters was greatly simplified than before, and was advocated by the emperor, which made other large families in China follow this method.
Extended data
Kong surname itself is a very old surname, and their ancestors can be traced back to the Gaoxin family in Di Ku more than 4,400 years ago. Di Ku, the grandson of the Yellow Emperor, once led the Chinese nation for 70 years after the Yellow Emperor and his father Shao Hao. Therefore, people surnamed Kong are also descendants of the Yellow Emperor. ?
Regarding the origin of Kong's family, there is such a record in Guangyun: "After leaving, it was originally from the second princess who swallowed B and gave her a surname; Wisdom is born after ancestors swallowed B eggs, so the word is too B, and later generations added B to the child, which is Confucius. In the Song Dynasty, Confucius' father Jia was at odds with his father Han, and his son went to Lu, so Confucius was born in Lu. "
From this point of view, porosity comes from the surname of the son of Shang Dynasty, and the founding king of Shang Dynasty is the descendant of Qi, the son of the Second Princess. Tang Yin took the word B in memory of his ancestors swallowing B eggs, which has been passed down for generations. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Kong of the Song Dynasty was killed, and his son took refuge in Lu, where Confucius was.