Birth and Early Life
Kung was born in his family estate in Qufu, Shandong. He was the third child and only son of Kong Lingyi (孔令貽), Duke Yansheng by his second concubine, Wang Baocui (王寶翠). His father's name contained the character 令 Ling because it was the generation name for 76th generation descendants of Confucius. On 6 June 1920, shortly after his birth, he was appointed Duke Yansheng by President Xu Shichang in accordance with an imperial tradition dating back to 1055 of bestowing the title on the eldest male in each generation of the main line of descent. His father, Kong Lingyi, had died before Kung Te-cheng's birth. Kung Te-cheng became the last person to be granted the centuries-old dukedom when the title was abolished by the Nationalist Government in 1935 and replaced with that of Sacrificial Official to Confucius (大成至聖先師奉祀官, literally "Sacrificial Officer of the Great Accomplished and Most Sacred Teacher").
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