Confucius Family Tree
I found out recently that there's a group that somehow keeps track of descendants of Confucius.
The organization has been around since 1930, and there are two million people they've certified as descendants. They estimate that there are as many as three million descendants.
Confucius was born in 551 BC and died in 479 BC. How on Earth are they substantiating this? According to wikipedia, the Chinese have been keeping track of (and often honoring) his descendants continually until around 1935.
Imagine if somebody in the West could say the same thing.
"Yeah, I'm descended from Socrates."
"Really? I'm descended from Alexander the Great."
It does present an interesting question. If you could pick a historical figure you could legitimately claim descent from, who would that be?
Personally, I'd pick Benjamin Franklin. He is far and away my favorite Founding Father.
Link (Via Rawstory)
The organization has been around since 1930, and there are two million people they've certified as descendants. They estimate that there are as many as three million descendants.
Confucius was born in 551 BC and died in 479 BC. How on Earth are they substantiating this? According to wikipedia, the Chinese have been keeping track of (and often honoring) his descendants continually until around 1935.
Imagine if somebody in the West could say the same thing.
"Yeah, I'm descended from Socrates."
"Really? I'm descended from Alexander the Great."
It does present an interesting question. If you could pick a historical figure you could legitimately claim descent from, who would that be?
Personally, I'd pick Benjamin Franklin. He is far and away my favorite Founding Father.
Link (Via Rawstory)