### Migration and Distribution #### 1. Early Migration Gong Xiru, the ancestor of the Gong clan in Donglai, arrived at Mount Kunyu from the Central Plains and settled in Liulinzhuang, Jieshi Town, Wendeng City. He lived there for only a short time. He set off from the Central Plains when the Later Zhou Dynasty ceded the throne to the Song Dynasty in AD 960 and passed away in Nanyuan in front of Mount Kunyu in AD 964, totaling only four years. According to research, Nanyuan is now Kunyang Village, formerly known as Gongjiazhuang (renamed in 1981). There were no Gong clan members living there in the early Yuan Dynasty (it is now occupied by the Wang clan). The descendants of Gong Xiru initially lived in the surrounding villages centered around Liulinzhuang and gradually migrated to various places later. The tombstone and genealogy records show that from Gong Xiru to his 11th - generation descendants, there were at least 13 with recorded names and at least 28 whose names were lost. For example, the genealogy records: "The genealogy is clear. They first moved from Liulin Village to Gongjiazhuang (Kunyang), and then from Gongjiazhuang to the village on the west ridge of Yingxianqiao. Duke Jiacheng moved from the village on the ridge to the front of Changxue Mountain and chose this place as his residence (i.e., lived in Changshan Village)." However, the "Wendeng City Gazetteer" records that the Gong clan in Ling Shang Village migrated from Yunnan in the early Yuan Dynasty. It is estimated that this statement in the city gazetteer is incorrect. The Wendeng City Gazetteer also records that the Gong clan in Liulinzhuang migrated from Haiyangsuo in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. This statement may also be incorrect. The couplets in the ancestral halls of the Gong clan in various places read: "The old clan of Liulin, branching from Taoling"; "Branching from Gushui, tracing the genealogy back to Mount Kunyu." It can be seen that the Gong clan in Liulin is an ancient native clan. The Gong clan also lived in Taohuaxian and branched out from there. Gushui refers to the small river in front of Liulin Village, and Mount Kunyu is Mount Kunyu. The "Rushan City Gazetteer" records that all the Gong clan members in the city are descendants of the native old clan in Liulin, Wendeng County, mainly divided into three branches: (1) One branch of the Gong clan in Liulin migrated to Zhuocun, Laiyang. The descendants of this branch are the most numerous, and will be recorded separately later. (2) During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, one branch of the Gong clan in Liulin migrated to Xujia Village, Fengjia Town. The descendants later settled in villages such as Wugezhuang, Gongjiatuan, and Nanxiwu. The genealogy also records: "Xujia Village in Ningyi... is the descendant of Duke Er." Ningyi refers to Ninghai Prefecture. Previously, Fengjia Town was under the jurisdiction of Ninghai Prefecture. It can be seen that the statement in this city gazetteer is well - founded and credible. (3) During the Jingtai period of the Ming Dynasty, the Gong clan in Yicheng, Wendeng (of the same clan as the Gong clan in Liulin) migrated to Gongjia Village, Baishatan Town. The descendants later settled in villages such as Gongjiazhuang and Xiaotan. Gong Bensen from Gongjia Village spent three years compiling the genealogy of this branch of the Gong clan, with a total of 110,000 characters. Gong Bensen was born in 1945 and is now the director of the "Dexin Horticultural Farm" on Mount Duogu. Except for those who remained in the local area and the three major branches that migrated in the early days, the descendants of the Liulin Gong clan, the descendants of Gong Xiru, have only migrated sporadically for reasons such as making a living or studying since then, without large - scale migrations. #### 2. The Gong Clan in Zhuocun, Laiyang The "Genealogy of the Gong Clan in Donglai" regards Gong Tianshou as the first - generation ancestor, who is the seventh - generation grandson of Gong Xiru, the ancestor of the Gong clan in Buye. Duke Tianshou had seven sons, and the names of six of them are lost. The sixth son, named Gong Fu, migrated from Liulin, Wendeng to Zhuocun, Laiyang at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty and is the founder of the Gong clan in Laiyang. Now, the generations of the Gong clan in Jiaodong are arranged starting from Gong Tianshou as the first generation based on this. Gong Fu had a son named Gong Xi; Gong Xi had five sons, named Ren, Yi, Li, Zhi, and Xin. After the five brothers separated their households, Ren and Li stayed in Zhuocun; Yi and Zhi migrated to Qingshan Village (in Yayazi Town, Rushan City); Xin migrated back to Wendeng. Since then, the descendants have thrived and spread throughout Jiaodong, and then to the whole country and even the world. ##### (1) The Glorious Era The most prominent period in the history of the Gong clan in Jiaodong was the Gong clan in Laiyang during the Jin and Yuan Dynasties. They were wealthy and held high positions, with remarkable achievements. They owned tens of thousands of hectares of fertile land, combined five industries in one household, lived a life of farming, studying, observing etiquette, and being honest, and lived in a large clan. There were often more than 300 people of all ages in the family, making them a prominent and wealthy family at that time. Gong Li, the fourth - generation ancestor, was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in AD 1185 during the Dading period of the Jin Dynasty. He accumulated official positions as the governor of Qingzhou, a cavalry colonel, and a feudal lord, was conferred the title of a court - ranked official, and was awarded a purple goldfish bag. He was the first Jinshi in the history of the Gong clan. He had a son named Gong Fushou. Gong Fushou, the fifth - generation ancestor, was posthumously awarded the title of a senior official. He had three sons: Cheng, Qian, and Shen, all of whom held official positions. Gong Shen, the sixth - generation ancestor, had nine sons, six of whom held official positions; he also had ten grandsons, seven of whom held official positions. His seventh grandson, Gong Zhen, was a Jinshi in AD 1315 during the Yanyou period of the Yuan Dynasty, and was honored as the Grand Minister of State, ranking among the Three Dukes, and was awarded the title of a senior official. He held high power and was the highest - ranking official in the national regime in the history of the Gong clan from the ancestor Gong Zhiqi to the present, with the reputation of "half of the court is the Gong clan." At this time, among the other descendants of the same clan, those with official positions accounted for about half of the clan members. The Jin and Yuan Dynasties were the heyday of the official career development of the Gong clan in Laiyang and the most glorious period in the history of the Gong clan in Donglai. ##### (2) Migration and Distribution The five brothers of the fourth - generation ancestor: Ren, Yi, Li, Zhi, and Xin, separated their households. Ancestors Ren and Li stayed in Zhuocun. As the population increased, the later descendants began to migrate gradually. According to Chinese traditional customs, the eldest son and his descendants stay in the ancestral home. The descendants of the eldest son, Ancestor Ren, and the descendants of Cheng, the eldest grandson of Ancestor Li (the third son), have lived in Zhuocun for sixteen generations and only started to migrate in the seventeenth generation. They mainly migrated to the surrounding villages centered around Zhuocun at close distances. Zhuocun, belonging to Jiangtuan Town, Laiyang City, is on the left bank of the lower reaches of the Wulong River, surrounded by mountains and rivers, with fertile land, providing excellent environmental conditions for the reproduction of the Gong clan. Now, there are more than 1,500 households and more than 5,000 people in Zhuocun, most of whom are from the Gong clan, known as the first village in Laiyang. Qian, the second grandson of Ancestor Li, had six sons and thirteen grandsons. His descendants first lived in Zhuocun and started to migrate in the tenth generation. For example, the Gong clan in villages such as Donggezhuang, Xizhongjing, Xutuanzhuang, and Xuefang in Laiyang, and Dahan Village in Jimo, Gongjiazhuang in Penglai, and Balingzhuang in Pingdu are all descendants of Gong Qian. Gong Youxian, the ancestor of the Gong clan in Dongguang, Hebei Province, was the third - place winner in the imperial examination in AD 140

Gong Yi A person from the Three Kingdoms period, served as the governor of Boling. His descendants multiplied greatly, and many of them entered official careers. Gong Yuan A person from the Ming Dynasty, passed the imperial examinations and became a Jinshi. He rose to the position of censor. He was honest and upright, had high moral integrity, and made remarkable achievements in his official tenure.

Migration and Distribution According to the research in ancient surname study books, the Gong surname belongs to the noble families of the Zhou Dynasty. It originated from the current Gong County in Henan Province. Gong County is located on the east bank of the Luo River. It used to be one of the vassal states in the Zhou Dynasty called the State of Gongbo. After the Qin and Han dynasties unified the country, the former site of the State of Gongbo was set up as Gong County. The prominent and influential families of the Gong surname lived in Shanyang Commandery, which is now the northwest of Jinxiang County in Shandong Province. The descendants of the Gong family respect Gong Jiangong as the founding ancestor of the Gong surname.

Gong Qi Styled Mengdao, he was a native of Hanshou County in the Southern Song Dynasty of the Southern Dynasties. He was elegant and handsome. When Fan Shu, a master of books, saw him, he said, "This is an immortal from Jingchu." Gong Sui Styled Shaoqing, he was a native of Nanpingyang County (now Zou County, Shandong) in the Western Han Dynasty. He initially served as the Prefect of Gentlemen of Honor to Liu He, the Prince of Changyi. Liu He behaved wrongly in many ways. Gong Sui quoted classics and expounded the consequences of good and bad, remonstrating self - forgetfully. During the reign of Emperor Xuan (67 - 49 BC), he served as the Governor of Bohai. When there was a famine, Gong Sui went to the Bohai Commandery alone in a cart, opened the granaries to relieve the poor, and encouraged the people to engage in farming. The common people sold their swords to buy cows one after another, and the public order in the commandery improved greatly. Gong Tan Styled Tanbo, he was a native of Ningde in the Southern Song Dynasty. He became a disciple of Zhu Xi and attached great importance to putting what he learned into practice. In his later years, he debated the theory of the precedence of principle and qi with Yang Fu and was especially accomplished in it. He styled himself the Hermit of Nanfeng. Gong Sheng (68 - 11 BC) Styled Junbin, he was a native of Pengcheng in the Western Han Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Ai, he was summoned to serve as a Remonstrant - Counselor and submitted many memorials, discussing the state affairs. Later, he served as the Governor of Bohai. After Wang Mang usurped the throne, he lived in seclusion in his hometown. Wang Mang sent people to summon him several times and offered him the position of Senior Grandee, but he firmly refused. He said to his disciples such as Gao Hui, "Everyone will eventually be buried in the soil. How can one serve two different dynasties?" He starved to death after fasting for fourteen days. Gong Dingzi Styled Xiaosheng, he was a native of Hefei, Anhui in the late Ming Dynasty. He was a Jinshi (presented scholar) in the seventh year of Chongzhen's reign and served as a Supervisor in the Ministry of War. After the Qing army entered Beijing, he successively held the positions of the Chief Censor and the Minister of Justice. He was open - minded and not bound by etiquette and customs. He was knowledgeable and well - read, good at poetry and prose, and was as famous as Wu Weiye and Qian Qianyi, known as the Three Great Literati of Jiangzuo in the early Qing Dynasty. His concubine, Gu Hengbo, was good at painting ink orchids, with a unique style.

### Migration and Distribution (Lacking information) The Gong surname is not ranked among the top 100 surnames in the Chinese Hundred Family Surnames both on the Chinese mainland and in Taiwan. The Gong surname originated from the Ji surname. In the late Spring and Autumn Period, the power of the State of Lu fell into the hands of three great ministers, the Jisun, Mengsun, and Shusun families. The duke of Lu became a puppet at their mercy. During the reign of Duke Zhao of Lu, Duke Zhao wanted to eliminate the Jisun family while it was having internal strife. So he, together with his two sons Gong Yan and Gong Wei, united a group of people to attack the Jisun family. Unexpectedly, both the Mengsun and Shusun families came to support the Jisun family. The three families combined forces to defeat Duke Zhao of Lu. Duke Zhao of Lu had no choice but to flee to the State of Qi with Gong Yan and Gong Wei. The descendants of Gong Yan and Gong Wei became the Gong clan. Gong Nai was a litterateur of the Ming Dynasty, from Xingyin (now in Shandong Province). He once served as the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Rites. Later, when he saw that Wei Zhongxian was causing chaos in the government, he claimed to be ill and retired. He advocated that poems should have characteristics of the times and opposed archaism and imitation. Many double - surnames starting with the character "Gong" that appeared in ancient times, some are still in use, while some have no one using them anymore. In the process of historical evolution, most of these double - surnames have been simplified into the Gong surname. Double - surnames containing the character "Gong" include: Gongsuo, Gongwei, Gonghua, Gongshen, Gongmeng, Gongzhi, Gongfu, Gongran, Gongjia, Gonggu, Gongwen, Gongde, Gongliang, Gongsun, Gongche, Gongjin, Gongdu, Gongjian, Gongshan, Gongzu, Gongbin, Gongyi, Gongshu, Gonglian, Gongsi, Gongruo, Gonglin, Gongjian, Gongshi, Gongjing, Gongzhong, Gongzhu, Gongshang, Gongshu, Gongchou, Gongxing, Gongcheng, Gongshi, Gongzu, Gongzheng, Gongming, Gongzi, Gongtu, Gongxiang, Gongniu, Gongyu, Gongqian, Gonggan, Gongqi, Gongqiu, Gongyang, Gongxi, Gonghe, Gongye, Gongwu, Gongxuan, Gongxia, Gongxi, Gongnan, etc. The prominent families of the Gong surname are located in Kuocang County, now Lishui City, Zhejiang Province.

Migration and Distribution: (Information missing) The Gong surname is not ranked among the top 100 surnames in the Mainland and Taiwan. During the Spring and Autumn period, there was a very famous disciple of Confucius named Duanmu Ci, with the courtesy name Zigong. He was from the State of Wei. Zigong was good at doing business and also served as the prime minister of the State of Lu. Some of his descendants took "Gong" as their surname, becoming the Gong clan and passing it down through generations, which is the origin of the Gong surname today.