The history of China is a long and convoluted narrative, encompassing millennia of rise and fall, and like any history, leaves out all but the most influential and memorable figures. History is written by the victors, and the victors have short attention spans.
Deep within the chronicles of obscure Chinese historians, one figure in particular stands out as deserving of more mention than history has afforded him. His name was Kongzi Wang (孔子王), Latinized by the Jesuit scholar Matteo Ricci as 'Confucius Rex,' and known to English-speaking scholars as 'King K'ung-tzu (Pinyin: Kongzi)'. He was born in 551 BCE near the city of Qufu (曲阜), at the same time as his more famous namesake, whom we know as Confucius. Like Brian of Nazareth, the noteworthiness of his birth was overshadowed by more-illustrious figures.
In the writings of the anonymous historian who wrote the only account of King Kongzi's life, he was thus named because of his domineering and overbearing manner. King Kongzi was not of Han descent; he was born of Central Asian stock, and in the words of the unknown author of the only work on his life, he stood a full two heads taller than his peers and was quite hairy. Furthermore, he had a habit of pounding his chest and bellowing when he spoke on important matters, something which his few followers found distasteful. Disheartened by the ill reception of his teachings, he took to drinking and gambling and lost his home and his honor.
He met his death in 479 BCE after climbing a pagoda with a dancing girl he kidnapped, and being shot through by archers sent by the governor of the State of Lu (魯).