In Search of the Supernatural (Soushen Ji)

Origins of the Confucian Lineage

The Ultimate Sage, the King of Culture and Manifestation original: "至聖文宣王" (Zhìshèng Wénxuān Wáng). This is the grand posthumous title bestowed upon Confucius by the Yuan dynasty in 1307, cementing his role as the supreme patron of the scholar-official class, was born in Queli, Changping District, in the state of Lu modern-day Qufu, Shandong Province. His ancestors were originally people of the state of Song.

The Sage’s great-grandfather was named Kong Fangshu. To escape the political turmoil caused by Hua Du in the state of Song, he moved to the state of Lu. He fathered Boxia, and Boxia fathered Shuliang He. Shuliang He's eldest son was named Meng Pi (with the courtesy name Boni), but because he suffered from a physical deformity original: "瘕" (jiǎ). In historical records, this is often interpreted as a deformity of the foot or a chronic ailment that disqualified him from being the primary ritual heir, he was unable to succeed the family line. The second son was the Sage himself.

In the winter of the twenty-first year of the reign of Duke Xiang of Lu, on the Gengzi day of the tenth month, the Sage was born. On that evening, two dragons circled the room and the Five Elders descended into the courtyard. These Five Elders were the spirits of the Five Planets referring to the visible planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. His mother, of the Yan family, heard the "Music of the Highest Heaven" 鈞天之樂 (Jūntiān zhī yuè): The celestial music of the dwelling of the Emperor of Heaven echoing in her room. A voice spoke from the empty air, saying: "Heaven has been moved by the birth of this Holy Son, and therefore sends down the harmonious sounds of pipes and bells."

When he was born, the top of his head was sunken in the middle and raised on the sides the text uses "圩頂" (wéidǐng), describing a head shaped like a basin or a valley surrounded by hills; because of this, he was given the name Qiu meaning "Hill" and the courtesy name Zhongni. He lost his father when he was young, and his father was buried at Mount Fang. The Sage grew to a height of nine feet and two inches in ancient measurements, this would make him exceptionally tall, emphasizing his "larger than life" status and had a waist ten spans wide. He possessed forty-nine auspicious physical marks, including the "inverted crown" the text cuts off here, referring to a list of physiognomic signs believed to denote a person of supreme wisdom and virtue...