Historic Origin of Chinese Surnames

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Historic Origin of Chinese Surnames, Surname History
The Origin of Surname

Surname also known as family name in Chinese is called Xin Shi ”姓氏”. These were evolved from Totang use to identify tribes 5000 years ago.

Xin Shi “姓氏”originally have different meaning between Xin “姓”and Shi “氏”. Xin “姓”as it is written represent Children that was born (生) by Women(女),in a maternal society, Children that are born by the same women are deem to be from the same family and have a same family name as their mother. As the society evolved from a maternal society to a paternal society, the family has also change from having the mothers' name to the father's name. As the family growth, members from the family start to move away to different places. Despite the shift, member of the same family will continue to retain their family name Xin “姓” while adopt another word to differentiate from other branches. This is know as Shi “氏”. In a family, there can always be one Xin “姓” while having many different Shi“氏”.

Xin Shi have it main revolution in the Chun Qiu Period “春秋战国”when the Zhou “周”started to col lap. The distinction between Xing and Shi became ambiguous. Many family name use nowadays are originated from that period.

In the Xi Han “西汉”, the differences between Xing “姓” and Shi “氏”have evolved to be so minute that most people will mix the two into one as what we do nowadays.

According to study, there used to be approximately 12,000 family name in China. However, there are only about 3000 family name commonly used now.

Family name was once use not only to distinguish family members but also to distinguish their hairaki in the society. It is also commonly rule that the members of the same family are not allowed to marriage each other. This same rule are still respected by many nowadays.

History of Chinese surname Wu 吴


The surname Wu dates back to the offspring of Taibo and Zhongyong, both are sons of Gonggong Danfu (Old Duke Danfu) in Zhou Dynasty.

According to historical records, Taibo and his brother originally had the right to throne. However, they found that their father was especially fond of Ji Chang (i.e. later Zhou Wen Wang or Civil King), who was the son of their father's third son Ji Li, so they gave up their rights to Ji Li and then escaped to the area of Dong Wu (East Wu).

Taibo and Zhongyong called themselves "Gou Wu" and "Gong Wu" in Dong Wu area. Local people admired their moral integrity very much and followed their leadership. As the followers increased, they established the State of Wu and set Wu (today's Suzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province) as the capital.

Till the 19th grandson Shoumeng, the powerful State of Wu started hegemony. In late Spring and Autumn period, Fu Chai, king of the State of Wu, was taken in by the scheme of the State of Yue through enticing women and the State of Wu fell. In that disaster, large numbers of people of Wu were expelled out of their homes, some of whom fled afar and some fell slaves for the State of Yue.

The farther the Wu people were away from hometown, the more they missed it, therefore "Wu" more and more stood out as a symbol of blood tie and geographic relations. Having lost their country, people of Wu took "Wu" as their family name. Later, when the State of Yue perished, Wu people in Yue fled and many of them moved to the south, the farthest to Yangshan of Guangdong.

By People's Daily Online

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Chinese Li 李 surname history


In Chinese history, people with surname Li established the most states, which is quite unusual in the Chinese surname history. More than 60 people with surname Li proclaimed themselves emperors in history, establishing the states such as Da Cheng, Western Liang, Liang, Wu, Wei, Tang, Chu, Later Tang, Southern Tang, Da Shu, Western Xia and Da Shun.

Among all the above-mentioned states, Tang Dynasty (618 -- 907 A.D.) is the one that deserves the most attention. Tang Dynasty lasted for 290 years and 24 emperors successively ruled China. Tang Dynasty, especially the former part, with vast territory, was powerful and prosperous, and reached its peak in the latter half of the seventh century. Geographically speaking, Tang's territory extended from the Lake Baikal and the upper reaches of Yenisei River in the north to Caspian Sea in the northwest as well as to Japan Sea in the northeast.

Historically speaking, Tang Dynasty gained great fame and high prestige in the world. In terms of foreign affairs, foreign countries paid tribute to the central government, and Emperor Taizong was deeply respected as "Heavenly Khan"; in terms of domestic affairs, politics was honest and enlightened, and people lived and work in peace and contentment. "The prosperity of Zhenguan" and "The heyday of Kaiyuan" were crowned with eternal glory, creating the sagacious governance of Li family.

Apart from Tang Dynasty, people with surname Li also established other state in Chinese history: Li Xian proclaimed himself emperor at the beginning of Eastern Han and established state in Lujiang county; Li Xiong founded Da Cheng state in Western Jin Dynasty; Li Gao established Western Liang state in western Gansu province; Li Gui proclaimed himself Emperor of Liang in late Sui Dynasty; Li Zitong proclaimed himself emperor of Wu in Yangzhou; Li Mi proclaimed himself emperor of Wei in Luokou; Li Bian proclaimed himself emperor of Da Shu; Li Cunxu of Shatuo nationality established Later Tang Dynasty; Li Yuanhao of Dangxiang nationality established Western Xia Dynasty and Li Zicheng established Da Shun State.

By People's Daily Online

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Chinese Zhao 赵 surname history


The surname Zhao is used by an unusually large number of people in China and is the most common Chinese surname. According to historic records, the first ancestor with the surname Zhao was Shaohao Jintian, one of the five prehistoric emperors. The legend goes that Nuxiu, daughter of Shaohao, gave birth to Gaotao for swallowing a black bird egg. Zaofu, the 14th grandson of Gaotai, lived during the Zhou Dynasty. He was good at saddling horses and harnessing carts and was favored by Emperor Mu of the Zhou Dynasty. Later, to credit him for crushing the rebellion led by Lord Xuyan and for escorting Emperor Mu safely back to the capital, the descendents of Zaofu took the name of the city, Zhao, as their surname. At that point, the earliest Chinese Zhao family surname came into being.

In the late Zhou Dynasty, Shudai, the 7th grandson of Zaofu, went to the state of Jin for shelter with some clans because he had been ousted by his family. However, the remaining Zhao clan that had not moved to the State of Jin still lived in Zhao city. From then on, the surname Zhao not only took root in the state of Jin, but also became more popular. The state of Zhao which originated in the state of Jin later became one of the "Seven Overlord States" in the Warring States period.

After the state of Zhao was destroyed by the state of Qin, two branches of the surname Zhao emerged: Tianshui Zhao and Zhuojun Zhao. Emperor Qin Shi Huang expelled the last Emperor of the state of Zhao, Zhao Jia, to Xirong. Some followers with the Zhao surname also moved to Gansu, living in a place named Tianshui and thus forming the Tianshui branch of the Zhao surname. Zhao Qian, son of Lord Daoxiang of the state of Zhao, was exiled to Pangling (Pang county in central China's Hubei province) and later his descendants moved from Pangling to Liwu in Zhuo county (Boye county in north China's Hebei province), thus forming another branch of the Zhao surname, Zhuojun Zhao. From then on, the Zhao surname greatly expanded, reaching as far as the northern and central parts of Vietnam.

By People's Daily Online

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Chinese Kong 孔 surname history


Surnames Zi, Tai and Yi developed into surname Kong

Surname Kong has a rather long history among Chinese surnames. Its ancestry can be traced back to Di Ku, grandson of Xuanyuan Huangdi (the Yellow Emperor) who lived about 4,000 years ago. Therefore, people with surname Kong are believed to be the descendants of the Yellow Emperor.

According to historical records, Qi, son of Di Ku and the earliest ancestor of Shang Dynasty, was surnamed Zi. During the reign of King Tang in Shang Dynasty, the given name of Tang was Taiyi, his surname Zi, so his full name was Zi Taiyi. Later, some of his descendants combined his surname Zi with one character Yi from his given name to form a new surname Kong in commemoration of King Tang.

Aside from the descendants of the Yellow Emperor, there are also six other sources of surname Kong according to legend. However, since Confucius was born among the descendants of the Yellow Emperor, the Kong family derived from this branch became the most popular one among all Kong offspring. Subsequently it received respects from imperial families through the ages, maintaining a supreme social status. From then on, all the branches of Kong families came over and pledged allegiance to this branch, worshipping Confucius as their ancestor.

By People's Daily Online

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Chinese Zhuang 庄 surname history


According to the Manuscript of the Words and Deeds of Virtuous Clans , people with surname Zhuang are descendants of king Zhuang of the State of Chu in Spring and Autumn period. The descendants adopted the posthumous title of king Zhuang as their surname. Another group of people with the surname Zhuang came from State of Song. King Dai of Song was named Zhuang, and his offspring later took Zhuang as their family name.

From the Warring States period to Qin and Han Dynasties, surname Zhuang experienced two big changes. First, Zhuang Qiao, descendant of king Zhuang of Chu, went to attack Bashu State under orders, but he was blocked by Qin troops on his way home. He had no alternative but to proclaim himself king in Dian. Second, Emperor Ming of Eastern Han Dynasty was named Zhuang, therefore many people with surname Zhuang changed their surnames so as to avoid the taboo on the personal name of Emperor Ming. In the period of Sixteen States, surname Zhuang spread from Hubei and Hunan to other regions in the country, such as Guansu, Zhejiang, Fujian as well as Shandong.

There is no lack of celebrities in Zhuang family circle: for instance, Zhuang Jia, a senior official with State of Qi in Spring and Autumn period; Zhuang Qiao, who proclaimed himself king in Dian in the Warring States period; Zhuang Ji, an expert on "poetic prose" in Western Han Dynasty; Zhuang Chuo, a well-known writer in Song Dynasty; Zhuang Su, who was famous for his rich collections of books in Song and Yuan Dynasties; calligrapher Zhuang Yougong; Zhuang Cunyu and Zhuang Youke, experts on the study of Confucian classics; Zhuang Datian, leader of peasant uprising; as well as Zhuang Tinglong, who led to the incident of "Ming History Inquisition" -- imprisonment of him for compiling History of Ming Dynasty considered offensive by the imperial court in Qing Dynasty; and chemist Zhuang Changgong in contemporary times.

By People's Daily Online

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Chinese surname history: Yang 杨


The surname Yang is one for posterity of the Yellow Emperor and the sixth most common family name of the Chinese people. The surname Yang has two main origins, one from the name of a state and the other from the name of a fief. Both originate from the surname Ji, the one used by the direct descendents of the Yellow Emperor - the earliest ancestor of the Chinese people.

Historical records of the surname Yang taking name from a state can be found in writings of Zheng Qiao in the Southern Song Dynasty. The records say the youngest son of King Xuan of the Zhou Dynasty was conferred the title of Marquis Yang. The state Yang was later eliminated by state Jin. Extirpates from state Yang then assumed the name of their state as their surname.

Another origin of the surname Yang is from the name of a fief. Shu Yu, the third son of King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty, was conferred in Jin. When Duke Wu of state Jin succeeded the throne, King Li of the Zhou Dynasty conferred the right of taxation of land Yang (now in southeast of Hongdong of Shanxi province) to him. Duke Wu¡¯s son Bo Qiao was conferred the title Marquis Yang. So began the history of the surname Yang, which took the name of a fief.

After the Northern Wei Dynasty many ethnic minorities changed their surnames to Yang and the surname Yang became a large surname for multiple nationalities.

By People's Daily Online

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Chinese Sun 孙 surname history


The surname Sun is the 12th most common family name in contemporary China. According to the historic record, the origin of the surname Sun can be traced back to Emperor Wen of the Zhou Dynasty, dating back more than 3,000 years.

The origin of the surname Sun is generally believed to have three sources. One story is that the grandson of Huisun, offspring of Emperor Wen, adopted the surname Sun to commemorate his grandfather. Another story is that the surname Sun originated from a later generation of Sun Shu'ao. The last and most important story is that surname Sun stems from the descendants of Tian Wan. When Tian escaped to the state of Qi from the state of Chen, Emperer Huan of the state of Qi was about to designate him as minister for his noble mind. However, Tian did not seek fame and personal gain, and only asked for a petty post that took charge of all sorts of workmen. The descendants of Tian distinguished themselves many times in battles, and Emperor Jin of the state of Qin conferred the surname Sun to them. Of all the three sources mentioned above, the last one is the most popular now.

Since the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period), people with the surname Sun have had several large-scale migrations from north to south and even the trans-sea-area and trans-state migrations.

The historic record shows that Sun Linfu and his son Sun Jia, a later generation of Wei Kangshu, were defeated by Nin Xi, their political opponent. Later Sun and his son moved separately to Weihui in central China's Henan province, forming the first separate move of the Sun family. From then on, descendants of the Sun family moved southward in the late Eastern Zhou Dynasty twice. At the end of Ming Dynasty and the beginning of Qin Dynasty, many coastal residences went to Taiwan Island to make a living. Among the total fortune-seekers, people with the surname Sun were in the majority.

By People's Daily Online

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Chinese Qian 钱 surname history


The surname Qian is anther important surname in the various families surnames in China and is at the second place in Various Families Surnames compiled in Song Dynasty.

According to the legend, in the Zhou Dynasty, Peng Fu, the offspring of the legendary God of Longevity Peng Zu, took charge of money in the court and was called "financial scholar-official". The Peng family was very prosperous at that time, and his offspring took their ancestor's post in the court as an honor. Later, they adopted "Qian" (the Chinese character carrying the meaning of money) as their family name. At that point, the Chinese surname Qian came into being. Since the surname Qian developed from and shared the same ancestry with surname Peng in the historical sense, people with surname Qian and surname Peng often thought they were of the same family.

The earliest dwelling place of the Qian family was around Xiapi, and their offspring moved to Xuzhou, Wucheng, Changxing and Gaomi as well as other rather populous places in Qin and Han Dynasties. After Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Qian family was in full flourish, extending over the south of the Yangtze River and later moving to Taiwan and overseas. Nowadays Qian family not only resides across the country, but also distributes largely in the overseas Chinese communities, with the total population standing at 2.7 million.

By People's Daily Online

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Chinese Zhou 周 surname history


According to historical records, the origin of the Zhou surname dates back to the imperial kinsmen of the Zhou Dynasty, which ruled China for 874 years. The original surname of the royal Zhou family was Ji. In 256 B.C., the Qin Dynasty conquered the Zhou Dynasty and put Rufen under the jurisdiction of Runan County. Ji Yong, a descendant of Emperor Ping of the Zhou Dynasty, which lived on the system of enfeoffment (investing nobility with hereditary titles) in Rufen, changed his surname to Zhou to commemorate the merits and virtues of his ancestors. The descendants of Emperor Nan of the Zhou Dynasty, who were called the Zhou family after the Zhou Dynasty had been destroyed, also took on the Zhou surname. Since then the Zhou surname has become a common family name in Runan.

During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the emperor issued an imperial edict to change the Ji surname to Zhou to avoid the taboo of his personal name. This was also a major source of the Zhou family name.

Apart from these roots, the change of surnames by ethnic minorities and Han people also contributed to the formation of the Zhou surname. For example, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty also changed the Ji surname, a different Chinese character but with the same pronunciation as the royal family name in the Zhou Dynasty, into Zhou. The Helu and Pu surnames of the Xianbei nationality in the Beizhou Empire (the Northern Zhou) and the Xitong and Shuhu surnames of the Mongolian nationality in the Yuan Dynasty were also changed into Zhou.

Passed down from the royal family in the Zhou Dynasty, the Zhou surname, of course, was extraordinary. People with the Zhou surname could be found all over the country due to enfeoffment and migration through the ages -- especially from Runan, the largest dwelling place for the Zhou family. Generally speaking, the migration of the Zhou family followed the pattern of "west to east" and "south to north". Later, people with the Zhou surname moved to Taiwan from the Fujian and Guangdong provinces.

By People's Daily Online

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Chinese surname history: Liu 刘


The surname Liu is the fourth most popular family name in China and one for the offspring of Emperor Yao also called Yaotang, and posterity of Maojin. It bears enduring history and complicated origins.

According to the history book Tongzhi Shizulue the surname Liu has five origins. Emperor Yao had a descendent called Liu Lei who inherited the surname Liu; King Cheng of the Zhou Dynasty conferred fief Liu on the son of Wang Ji, hence the surname Liu; the Han Dynasty combined the surnames of Xiang and Lou into Liu; and the Hun people inherited their mothers' surname, also Liu.

Although the surname Liu has many origins it has only two main lines. One is the descendents of Emperor Yao or Yaotang, one line of the surname Qi. Among the offspring of Emperor Yao there was a Liu Lei who was good at training dragons. It is said that when he was born there were the Chinese characters "Liu Lei" on his palm, for which he gained his name. Liu Lei is the source of the surname Liu. This line originated in today's Tang county of Hebei province.

The other line is from a senior official in the Zhou Dynasty, who had a fief in Liu. In the Zhou Dynasty the aristocrat was conferred the fief Liu and his descendents were thus called Liu. This line was born out of the surname Ji with its aboriginal place in today's southwest Yanshi of Henan province.

After Liu Bang established the Han Dynasty he went a long way to confer people of his own surname. The surname Liu therefore gained tremendous development and became a big surname in China, with its presence covering the whole country.

By People's Daily Online

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Chinese surname history: Meng 孟


People surnamed Meng are the descendents of the family name Ji and the character "Meng" originated from the seniority in one family. In ancient China, the characters "Meng", "Zhong", "Shu" and "Ji" were used to denote the first, second, third and fourth eldest sons in a family.

"Meng", used to call the eldest son, has the meaning of "the eldest". The origin of the family name Meng can be traced back to Qingfu of one distinguished family of the State of Lu and Meng Zhi of one distinguished family of the State of Wei, both in the Spring and Autumn Period (772-481 B.C.). They were both descendents of the surname Ji.

After the founding of the Western Zhou (11 cent.-771 B.C.), the Duke of Zhou, son of King Wen of Zhou and younger brother of King Wu of Zhou, was granted Lu as his feudatory and established the State of Lu. Later after internal unrests broke out in the State of Lu, Qingfu, son of the Dukr Xiang of Lu took power but was exiled and escaped to the State of Ju. The offspring of Qingfu returned to the State of Lu after the situation there stabilized and were given the title of "minister" and the hereditary post of minister of works of the State of Lu and the surname Meng or Mengsun was conferred on them.

The other branch of the surname Meng were from the State of Wei in the Spring and Autumn Period (772-481 B.C.). The State of Wei was established by Kang Shu, a younger brother of the King Wu of Zhou, who was also of Ji family. According to historical records, Duke Ling of Wei had an elder brother Meng Zhi and the children of Meng Zhi thus took Meng as their family name. It is also recorded on the pedigree of Meng families that Duke Ling of Wei had a son called Gong Meng, whose offspring later picked Gongmeng as their surname, and then Meng for short.

Since North Song Dynasty (960-1127), as the status of Mencius (372-289 B.C.) was improved, the families of Meng started to expanded in population and mainly lived in then "Pingchang" and "Wuwei".

By People's Daily Online

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Chinese surname history: Han 韩


It is said that in the clan of the Duke of Jin during the Spring and Autumn Period there was one called Bi Wan, or Han Wan, who was the younger brother of Earl Zhuang of Quwo. Bi Wan was conferred in Hanyuan, from which his offspring took the surname Han. Bi Wan (Han Wan) and his descendents were almost all senior officials of state Jin.

Later, state Han become one of the seven powers during the Warring States Period with its capital in Pingyang. As the Han's territory expanded it moved its capital to today's Henan. Therefore the surname Han spread from Shanxi to today's Shaanxi and Henan, and eventually to the whole country.

After state Qin unified the other six states the royal descendents of state Han adopted the surname Han. According to historical records many ethnic groups in China changed their compound surnames to single-character surnames, and several adopted Han because of similar pronunciation.

Also there are recordings of some Koreans with the surname Han during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and a Japanese called Han Zhihe during the reign of Emperor Xian of the Tang Dynasty, which indicate the blending of foreign surname Han. The surname Han has three sources. The main one, however, came from Chinese surname Han.

By People's Daily Online

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Chinese surname history: Shen 申


The surname Shen is one of the 50 commonest surnames in China with its influence most felt in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang region. The surname Shen originated from the surname Ying, with its ancestor called Shishen, son of Emperor Ku who in turn was a descendant of the Yellow Emperor.

The Shishen clan later lived together with the Shaohao clan and was transformed by the eastern nationalities. It was therefore a Ying surname. Later they established a state Shen. When King Zhao of Zhou Dynasty went on a southern expedition the Ying-surnamed state Shen was exterminated and its descendants took the name of the state as their surname.

During the Xia Dynasty people established a state Shen of the Si surname. By the early Zhou the state Jiang conquered the Si-surnamed state Shen and its people migrated south to Shenlu of the Chu region and their descendants also changed their surname to Shen. In the early Western Zhou Dynasty the tenth son of King Wen was conferred in Shen (today's north Pingyu in Henan). In 506 AD the Ji-surnamed state Shen was annexed by state Cai and its posterity were then called with the surname Shen.

The Shen-surnamed are now inhabiting mainly in Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Henan etc.

By People's Daily Online

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Chinese surname history: Mao


The Chinese surname of Mao originated from the family name Ji. According to historical records, the King Wu of Zhou Dynasty enfeoffed his brother, born by the same mother, the State of Mao in the upper reach of Weihe River, which is in today's Qishan Mountain and Fufeng areas. The descendents of Shuzheng later used the name of their state as their surname.

As other people say, Ji Ming, the ninth son of the King Wen of Zhou Dynasty was given the Maoyi area of Henan or today's Yiyan of Henan Province and his offspring just took the name of the state as their family name. During the Southern and Northern Dynasty (420 - 589), people of minor ethnic groups joined the Mao family. The Mao people, who had lived in the north for generations, moved to south of the Yangtze River in Han (206 BC-220 AD) and Tang (618-907) dynasties. A branch of them moved from central China to today's Longcheng in Jizhou of Jiangxi Province.

Today, Mao ranks the 67th among Chinese surnames in terms of population.

By People's Daily Online

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Chinese surname history: Zhuge

In the Xia Dynasty the king of state Ge was conferred the title count and called Count Ge. Count Ge was the offspring of the ancient emperor Getian. After Count Ge's state was destroyed some of its people migrated to the southwest of Zhucheng (Zhu city), then to Yangdu in Shandong. To distinguish themselves from the local Zhu-surnamed people the latecomers put the character Zhu in front of Ge to form the compound surname Zhuge.

For a long time the Zhuge-surnamed viewed Zhucheng as their inhabitation center and kept expanding outward. The widely known Zhuge Liang often called himself "Zhuge Kongming from Langya (in Shandong)". Notable figures in history with the surname Zhuge are too numerous to be counted. There were Zhuge Feng ¨C a Metropolitan Commander in Western Han Dynasty; Zhuge Jin, Zhuge Ke and his son ¨Cadvisers of Kingdom Wu in the Three Kingdoms period; Zhuge Shuang in Tang Dynasty and Zhuge Gao who was known for making good brush pens in Song Dynasty. But the one the Zhuge-surnamed are most proud of is their outstanding ancestor Zhuge Liang.

By People's Daily Online