Since Kung Ling-i's wife had not yet produced a male heir and his concubine had only borne him two daughters, if the last child were to be a girl, there would be no successor to the hereditary title of Duke Yansheng, and the great prestige and wealth of the House of Kung would trigger a struggle for succession. Kung Te-cheng was thus born under the full protection of the Beiyang government.
因為孔令貽正室未留子嗣，妾室已生二女，若最後這一胎也是女兒，世襲的「衍聖公」封爵將無人繼承，而孔府龐大的名聲財富也將引發繼承爭奪戰，因此孔德成是在當時北洋政府重重保護下出生的。