It goes without saying that relying on DNA to identify ancestors is authentic, but under what conditions can ancestral DNA be found?

Confucius was born in 551 BC. After his death, Confucius was passed down to four generations, and gradually multiplied from the eighth generation. It has been more than 2,500 years, and his descendants are all over the world. According to statistics from the recently updated Confucius family tree, there are nearly 3 million descendants of Confucius, centered in Qufu, Shandong, throughout China and overseas. There are approximately 2.5 million to 2.6 million descendants of Confucius in mainland China, with Qufu as the center of residence. The largest number of overseas descendants of Confucius is 80,000 in South Korea, followed by the United States, Malaysia, Singapore and other places. There are also about 2,000 descendants of Confucius living in Taiwan, China.

The reporter learned from experts from the Institute of Genetics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences that the DNA in human cells not only determines the color of eyeballs and skin, but also leaves information about our ancestors. A child's genes contain genetic information from both the father and mother, but only two parts of it preserve relatively pure paternal or maternal genetic information: the Y chromosome is passed from father to son, and the mitochondrial DNA is passed from mother to son. Pass it on to children? Snow, Y chromosome is unique to men. Men with the same Y chromosome must come from the same ancestor. During evolution, mutations that occur on the Y chromosome are retained and passed on to male offspring. This information is a clan marker of the family. By finding these genetic markers, you can not only get relevant information about your paternal or maternal line, but you can also know who your "ancestor" is.

Inspired by a British report, some Chinese experts recently stated that DNA identification can be used to authenticate the descendants of Confucius. At the same time, this also accelerated the revision of the Kong family genealogy in Qufu, Shandong.

This newspaper reported that the "prospective descendants" of Confucius in mainland China are now hoping to use DNA identification technology to confirm their ancestry.

The Kong family tree is shrouded in golden light

Beijing's "Jinghua Times" reported on the 13th that according to the Confucius family rules, the Kong family tree has "a major revision every sixty years and a minor revision every thirty years." of contract. The last time the Confucius family tree was revised in Qufu, Shandong was in the 1930s. To this end, in May 1996, with the consent of Kong Decheng, the 77th generation grandson of Confucius, preparations for the renewal of the Confucius family tree began.

Historically, Confucius's family tree has been revised four times on a large scale. This is the fifth and largest one.

Kong Dewei, editor of the Confucius Genealogy Revision Association in Qufu, Shandong Province, said that since Confucius’ descendants are scattered across the country and overseas, they are only responsible for revising some of the domestic genealogy. The "Family Genealogy Renewal Work Association" is responsible for the collection.

Kong Dewei said that a family tree is a historical picture that records the people of the blood group and lineage of the same ancestors. It, together with local chronicles and official history, constitutes the three pillars of the national historical building and is part of China's precious cultural heritage. At the same time, it is also of great significance for Chinese people at home and abroad to find their roots and recognize their ancestors and enhance national cohesion.

Descendants are trying to determine their ancestry

"Beijing Morning News" reported on the 13th that in the process of revising the genealogy, investigation and verification took up most of the time. The "Confucius Genealogy" revised in the 1930s played a huge role in this process. Some descendants of the Confucius family can produce branch family trees, and these family trees can be matched with the "Confucius Family Tree". Then, the descendants of Confucius in this line can compare the newly compiled family trees of the whole world. Some descendants of the Kong family want to be included in the genealogy, but they can't tell which genealogy they belong to, or even their seniority. This causes a lot of trouble in the work of entering the genealogy.

The British "Times" previously reported that the British company "Oxford Ancestors" found through DNA comparative testing that the Y chromosome of Tom Robinson, a 48-year-old descendant of British immigrants and an American accounting professor, was identical to Genghis Khan. "exact match". Robinson was confirmed as the first male descendant of Genghis Khan found in Europe and the United States so far. It is this news that provides inspiration to Confucius' "prospective descendants".

In this regard, experts from the Institute of Genetics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences suggest that those descendants of Confucius who have neither branch nor seniority but want to be included in the family tree can confirm their identity by extracting DNA from their bodies for testing. According to interviews with some people surnamed Kong, they said that if their finances allowed, they would consider using DNA testing to verify whether they are descendants of Confucius.

So, how to obtain Confucius’ DNA sample? Relevant experts said that all it takes is to obtain the DNA of a direct descendant of Confucius. There is no technical problem anymore. The key is that this kind of test is very expensive. Many people want to use DNA testing to prove that they are indeed descendants of Confucius, but they cannot afford the cost of more than 1,000 yuan per test.

According to statistics from the recent revision of the Confucius family tree, there are nearly 3 million descendants of Confucius, centered in Qufu, Shandong, throughout China and overseas. There are about 2.5 million to 2.6 million descendants of Confucius in mainland China, with Qufu as the center of residence. The largest number of overseas descendants of Confucius is 80,000 in South Korea, followed by the United States, Malaysia, Singapore and other places. There are also about 2,000 descendants of Confucius living in Taiwan.