Where to find descendants of Confucius?

The descendants of the ancients?

where Beijing News weekly of the new knowledge

In Western culture, with marriage and birth this attitude of life events.

Western marriage in the Church register, giving birth to children baptized in the Church, so there are Parish Church of all population of detailed records, Westerners tend not to amend the family tree, as long as the Church look can understand their origins. But the Chinese marriage and childbirth is purely internal affairs of a family. As long as the family themselves don't fix spectrum, or to destroy, then subsequently genealogy people once shattered, I'll always be a dry eye in the mystery.

Fortunately, there are times, science can help us.

For example, the use of the male-specific, the y chromosome and son legend for genetic analysis, although it is not possible to understand unequivocally to rebuild a patrilineal family tree, but can be broadly stated that he and who in hundreds of thousands of years ago is a company. The analysis of the principle is simple: on average, each upload certain algebra, Y chromosome on some less important fragments on a catastrophe occurs, so more of algebra, Y chromosome variation also on accumulation, the more the same ancestor of descendant of Y chromosome genetic differences. From here you can determine the relationships between men, and thus their Y chromosome fragments of mutation calculated the number of their most recent common ancestor of living men.

Suppose we have other reliable evidence that some men today are an ancient people descended, then we can generally know the ancients Y chromosomes of the face, then you can use it to test other men today are descendants of the ancients.

In 2006, one called Robinson (TomRobinson) United States Professor this way accidentally found himself was a descendant of Genghis Khan, momentary sensation of the world.

In Chinese, the most comparable Mong

olia "Golden family" to calculate the Kong family. Today, Saint-born already, more than one million people, in theory, as long as reasonable sampling, should also be the launch of an Atlas of Confucius of Y chromosomes, thereby effectively determine whether the pedigree unidentified Saint descent. However, the hole home but later declined any form of determination. This is understandable, after all, no one can guarantee that the celebrity of gene delivery had never seen some exceptions. If through modern technology actually found some descendant exist, not embarrassing? instead of taking such a risk, adhere to the traditional roots; even if it is like the 1970s Taiwan's Han Yu 39 generation Sun v. others "defamation of Han Yu" as to the Confucius as the protagonist movies means means poking, others questioned.

However please do not forget that human nuclear genome contains up to 3 000 genes, chromosomes and Y fewer than 80 gene, even the odd change have not.

Control colour, height, hair quantity, and other major foreign characters of genes, chromosomes are in Y. Basic genetics tells us that each person's genes are half came from the father, and half from the mother, so those not Confucius Y chromosome gene of men and all women may not have the genes of Confucius, but this gene does not pass through pure, Middle patrilineal at a woman.

Indeed, after more than two thousand years of endless, Confucius's genes may have in the Chinese crowd proliferate, as if we breathe air every mouth may be those who pass through the body of Kublai Khan Emperor Qin Shihuang's or oxygen atoms.

Entirely possible that a non-St. Community body gene from Confucius, more than a genuine goods Saint-— but these genes are not only in the y chromosome. Think beyond the black skin, white skin, also entirely possible biological significance of the "Saint-", like looks completely white people of Professor Robinson was a descendent of the Negroid Tiemuzhen. In fact, all genes are equal, although some genes to genes more equal than others.

□ Liu repute (Beijing science writer)