ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Family tree of Confucius in the main line of descent

Confucius was a very important person who lived a long time ago in China. He had a family, just like you have a family. His family tree is like a puzzle that shows how all of his relatives are connected to him.

At the top of the family tree is Confucius himself. He was a great philosopher and teacher who lived over 2,000 years ago. Next to him are his parents, who were his mom and dad. They had parents too, who were Confucius' grandparents.

Now things get a little trickier. Confucius had a wife, whose name was Qiguan. Together, they had a son named Kong Li who later had a son named Kong Ji. Kong Ji had a son named Kong Sheng and Kong Sheng had a son named Kong An. Kong An had a son named Kong Huan and Kong Huan had a son named Kong Yingda.

Kong Yingda had two sons, but one of them died young. The other son was Kong Jian, and he had a son named Kong Ke. Kong Ke was the last direct descendant of Confucius in the main line of descent.

However, Confucius had many other descendants, but they were not in the main line of descent. Some of his descendants were very important in Chinese history too. For example, Kong Fu was a famous scholar and politician who lived during the Ming Dynasty.

So there you have it, a detailed explanation of Confucius' family tree in the main line of descent. It's like a big puzzle with lots of pieces, and each piece shows how one person in Confucius' family is related to another person.