Confucianism: ranks and lineage

IColours

Colour used for this page of the library: Zhu (vermilion) #493131. Every colour code is approximate, since most paths name their colours without publishing codes.

Principal colour the colour of the path

Place of worship real sanctuaries

Ritual colours by occasion and season

Mourning and avoided colours

IIRanks

Confucianism has no church, no clergy and no religious hierarchy. In old Vietnam, the worship of Confucius was tied to the state (the Temple of Literature, the Imperial Academy, and the Rector who presided over the spring and autumn sacrifices) and to the village (the Literati Association sacrificing at local Confucian shrines). Today the Temple of Literature and Imperial Academy in Hanoi is managed by the Temple of Literature Center for Cultural and Scientific Activities, which organizes the sacrifices. The ranks in this file describe actual organization, not a clerical hierarchy.

1. 1
   Rector of the Imperial Academy ("Tế tửu") 祭酒 · Rector of the Imperial Academy

   Head of the Imperial Academy, a post made regular under Emperor Lê Thái Tông (1434), of the junior fourth rank. He oversaw the Temple of Literature and presided over the spring and autumn sacrifices there. The post no longer exists.

2. 2
   Vice Rector of the Imperial Academy ("Tư nghiệp") 司業 · Vice rector

   The second official under the Rector from the early Lê period, of the junior fifth rank, who helped train the students. The post no longer exists.

3. 3
   Village elder of letters, chief officiant of the Literati Association 斯文會 · Head of the village literati association

   The person with the highest examination degree in the village, who served as chief officiant of the Literati Association at sacrifices in the local Confucian shrine.

4. 4
   Member of the Literati Association 斯文 · Literati members

   Students of the classics of the sages, holders of doctoral, licentiate and baccalaureate degrees, and officials. They sacrificed to Confucius and the Four Correlates at the local Confucian shrine twice a year, in the second and eighth lunar months.

5. 5
   Present day sacrificial team: chief officiant, assistant officiants, east chanter, west chanter, ritual attendants 主祭 陪祭 執事 · Ritual officiants

   The Temple of Literature and Imperial Academy in Hanoi now holds its sacrifices through the Temple of Literature Center for Cultural and Scientific Activities, including a procession of the ritual text and the sacrifice in the Đại Thành Hall. No source found stating who serves as chief officiant today or how the officiant is chosen.

Followers: Confucian scholars and students (people who study Confucian learning). There is no concept of believers joining a religion.. In the past, people were ranked by examination degree: baccalaureate, licentiate, doctorate. These are academic degrees, not religious grades.

IIIForms of address

IVVestments by rank

Flat drawings made from the descriptions in the sources, with no people shown. Colours are approximate.

VLine of succession

Confucianism has no church, no head and no rite of ordination. Its line of transmission is the orthodox succession of the Way (daotong). Students continue their teachers, later scholars see themselves as carrying on the Way of earlier sages, and the court admits them to worship in the Temple of Literature. In parallel there is the blood line of the Kong family, which keeps the worship of Confucius. In Vietnam today the worship at the Temple of Literature is managed by a state body.

The Confucian line of the Way in China

1. 551 to 479 BCEConfucius 孔子 (孔丘)

   Founder of Confucianism, honoured as the Supreme Sage and First Teacher.

2. #Four Correlates · 521 to 481 BCEYan Hui (the Restored Sage) 顏回 (復聖)

   Confucius's favourite disciple, first of the Four Correlates.

3. #Four Correlates · 505 to 435 BCEZengzi (the Exemplary Sage) 曾參 (宗聖)

   Disciple of Confucius and teacher of Zisi, credited with the Great Learning.

4. #Four Correlates · about 483 to 402 BCEZisi (the Transmitting Sage) 子思 (孔伋)

   Grandson of Confucius, credited with the Doctrine of the Mean.

5. #Four Correlates · 372 to 289 BCEMencius (the Second Sage) 孟子 (孟軻)

   Studied in Zisi's school, taught that human nature is good, honoured as the Second Sage.

6. 179 to 104 BCEDong Zhongshu 董仲舒

   Persuaded Emperor Wu of Han to make Confucianism the state orthodoxy.

7. 1130 to 1200Zhu Xi 朱熹

   Synthesised Song Neo-Confucianism. His commentaries on the Four Books became the examination standard in China, Korea and Vietnam.

8. 1472 to 1529Wang Yangming 王守仁 (陽明)

   Founder of the School of Mind, teaching the unity of knowing and acting.

9. Today: no common head

   Confucianism has no single organisation or head today.

The main Kong family line: Duke Yansheng and Sacrificial Official

1. #1 · 551 to 479 BCEConfucius 孔子

   First generation of the Kong family line.

2. #2 · 532 to 483 BCEKong Li (Boyu) 孔鯉

   Son of Confucius.

3. #3 · about 483 to 402 BCEZisi 孔伋

   Grandson of Confucius, also one of the Four Correlates.

4. #46 · enfeoffed in 1055Kong Zongyuan 孔宗願

   Granted the title Duke Yansheng by Emperor Renzong of Song in 1055, a title held by the main line for nearly nine centuries.

5. #77 · 1920 to 2008Kong Decheng 孔德成

   Last Duke Yansheng. In 1935 the title became Sacrificial Official to Confucius. Moved to Taiwan in 1949.

6. #78 · 1939 to 1989Kong Weiyi 孔維益

   Eldest son of Kung Te-cheng, died before his father.

7. #79 · born 1975, Sacrificial Official since 2009Kong Chuichang 孔垂長

   Seventy ninth generation heir, Sacrificial Official since 2009, still presiding at the Taipei Confucius Temple rites in 2025.

Full list at the source

Confucianism in Vietnam: the Temple of Literature and those honoured there

1. 1023 to 1072Lý Thánh Tông 李聖宗

   Built the Temple of Literature in 1070. Now honoured in the Thái Học hall.

2. examination of 1075Lê Văn Thịnh 黎文盛

   Top graduate of Vietnam's first Confucian examination in 1075.

3. 1066 to 1128Lý Nhân Tông 李仁宗

   Founded the Imperial Academy in 1076. Now honoured in the Thái Học hall.

4. 1292 to 1370Chu Văn An 朱文安

   Rector of the Imperial Academy under the Trần, honoured in the Temple of Literature as the model teacher.

5. 1442 to 1497Lê Thánh Tông 黎聖宗

   Began erecting the doctoral steles in 1484. Now honoured in the Thái Học hall.

6. from 1434 to the early 19th centuryRector and Vice Rector of the Imperial Academy 祭酒 司業

   Officials heading the Imperial Academy and leading its rites. In villages, literati associations led local sacrifices.

7. 1919The last Confucian examination

   The Nguyễn court held its last metropolitan examination in 1919.

8. in office at least until February 2026Lê Xuân Kiêu, Director of the Temple of Literature Center for Cultural and Scientific Activities

   Director of the state centre that manages the Temple of Literature and its rites. Not a religious office.

A venerated figure: the library shows no portrait, only the name inside a round seal.

VIOrdination and transmission

Confucianism has no ordination or consecration. Transmission is a transmission of learning: teachers teach students, who sit examinations and earn degrees. The right to lead sacrifices was determined by official post (the Rector) or by examination degree (the village elder of letters in the Literati Association). This system no longer exists. The officiant is now chosen by the heritage management body or by the community.

1. Studying the classics of the sagesRequirement: Studying under a teacherRite: no source found for a standard school entry rite
2. Passing the examinations, joining the Literati AssociationRequirement: Holding an examination degree or an official postRite: Taking part in the spring and autumn sacrifices at the local Confucian shrine
3. Becoming chief officiant of the Literati AssociationRequirement: Highest examination degree in the villageRite: Presiding over the sacrifice to Confucius and the Four Correlates

VIIWhere the sources disagree

• Confucianism has no official flag or identity color. All main colors here are inferred from the classics (the Analects) and from the colors of places of worship, not set by any organization.
• The old color in mau-sac.json (#2C3A34, based on black gauze robes, ink and dó paper) matches no original color name. The nearest named colors are mo 墨 #50616D or zi 緇 #493131. No online source found in this round describing the dark gauze robe of Vietnamese Confucian scholars.
• Color of the assistant officiant's robe: one source gives green, another purple. Both sources describe village communal house sacrifices. No source found describing the dress of the sacrificial team at the Temple of Literature today.
• The five grades of mourning in the Thọ Mai Family Rites are Confucian in origin, but they are now used in Vietnamese funerals generally, not only by followers of Confucianism.
• The hex codes for vermilion and ironwood are the nearest Chinese color names and have not been measured on photographs of the Temple of Literature.
• bac_thieng is set to true for Confucius, the Four Correlates, Dong Zhongshu, Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming because all of them are honored in Chinese Confucian temples. Chu Văn An and the three kings Lý Thánh Tông, Lý Nhân Tông and Lê Thánh Tông are set to true because they are honored in the Temple of Literature in Hanoi.
• A full list of the seventy nine generations of the Kong family exists on Chinese Wikipedia, but the page could not be read to check each name, so only the URL is given.
• Year Chu Văn An was admitted to the Temple of Literature: most sources place it under Emperor Trần Nghệ Tông after his death in 1370. The exact year is unclear.
• No source found for the year Mr. Lê Xuân Kiêu took office, and no source after February 2026. No source states who serves as chief officiant at the sacrifice to Confucius today.
• Images: the Wikimedia Commons file pages could not be opened (the domain was blocked), so all anh fields are null. Candidates to check manually: File:Kung Te-cheng 20070528.jpg, File:Kung Te-cheng 20051229.jpg, File:孔垂長（2011年）.jpg, File:奉祀官孔垂長，於孔子誕辰2566周年釋奠典禮.jpg.

VIIISources

?Quick Questions

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