Largest Genealogy in the World to be Presented to Library of Congress

The 80 volume family history of Confucius – spanning 83 generations – will be presented to the Library of Congress in special ceremonies in September.

The event will be a ceremony marking a special donation to the Library of Congress of the Confucian genealogy. Ling-He Kung, a 76th-generation descendant of the revered Chinese philosopher, will donate an 80-volume set that documents Confucius’s family tree. Published by the Beijing-based Culture and Literature Publishing House, the volumes record 83 generations (more than 2 million people) descended from Confucius. It is believed to be the biggest family tree in the world.

Born in 551 B.C. in Qufu in eastern China’s Shandong Province, Confucius was a great teacher and thinker whose theories were the orthodox ideology in China for more than 2,000 years.

This genealogical event will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 11 in the Asian Reading Room, located in room 150 of the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street S.E., Washington, DC.