A collection of ancient surnames that require elegance, such as Lan, Ming, Fang, etc.

Ancient Chinese surnames

When modern people talk about surnames and surnames, they often confuse them. In fact, judging from the original meaning of the surnames, the original meanings of the two are quite different.

(1) What is a surname?

Today, when an important conference issues a press release or a large collective book writes a list of representatives or authors, they often list them by surname. Strokes are in order. The surname here refers to the surname, because now there is no distinction between surnames and it has become a concept. In ancient times, surname and family name had two different meanings. When reading ancient books from the pre-Qin period, we must distinguish clearly.

Let’s talk about “surname” first. Surname is a family name that represents the same blood relationship. It is a mark of the clan. It marks the clan from which a person is born. "Shuowen Jieyu" says: "The surname is the person's birth." We see that the surname starts from "生" and "女", which shows the blood relationship at birth and clearly shows that people with the same surname are the descendants of a female ancestor. Descendants, this is a reflection of the ancient matrilineal social system. It can be seen that the surname originated from the matrilineal society.

There are many original surnames derived from women in ancient my country, such as Ji, Gui (gui), Si (si), Jiang, Ying, Gui, and Ji. These clans are all matrilineal. When society developed into a patrilineal system, surnames also changed to be calculated based on patrilineal blood relations. The surname that appears at this time does not have the female character next to it. According to legend, the Yellow Emperor's twenty-five sons were born to four mothers and were divided into twelve surnames: Ji, Ji, You, Qi, Ji, Teng, Zhen, Xun, Ren, Xizhen, and Yi. Among these twelve surnames, except for Ji and Ji, which still have the female character, the other ten surnames do not have the female character. This shows that society has basically transitioned to a male-line system at this time.

Let’s talk about “Shi” next. A surname is a branch derived from a surname. In ancient times, people with the same surname moved to various places due to population proliferation. In addition, due to changes in status and occupation, the descendants of the same ancestor , they gradually divided into some tribes, and each branch was marked with a special number, which was "Shi". For example: the ancestors of the Shang Dynasty had the surname "Zi", and were later divided into Yin, Shi, Lai, Song, and Kongtong surnames; the ancestors of the Zhou Dynasty had the surname "Ji" and were later divided into the surnames of Guan, Cai, Yi, Huo, Lu, Wei, and Mao , Dan, Gao, Yong, Cao, Teng, Bi, Yuan, Cun, Yu, Han, Jin, Ying, Han, Fan, Jiang, Xing, Mao, yesterday, Ji, Wu, Yu, Guo, Zheng, Yan, Sui , Ba and other surnames; the ancestors of the Qin State "surnamed Ying" were later divided into surnames such as Zhao, Liang, Xu, Tan (tan), Jiang, Huang, Ge, Mi and Qin; the ancestors of the Qi State were "surnamed Jiang" and were later divided into The surnames include Shen, Lu, Xu, Ji, Zhou, Xiang, and Qi. Therefore, the surname is the mark of the clan, and the surname is the mark of the family. The surname is determined by birth and is unchanging, while the surname is determined by the family and is variable.

(2) The role of surnames

Regarding the role of surnames, the ancients have made some explanations. Liu Shu's "Tongjian·Waiji" of the Song Dynasty said: "People with surnames are related to their ancestors." The examination is based on the origin; the descendants are distinguished by their own surnames. "Ban Gu's "Bai Hu Tong·Name" chapter says: "So who has a surname? Therefore, merit is valued and skill is despised... When you hear his surname, you can know his virtue. , so it encourages people to do good." Zheng Qiao of the Song Dynasty said in "Tongzhi·Short Preface to Surnames": "The surname is used to differentiate between high and low...the surname is used to differentiate between marriages...After three generations, the surnames are unified and all are associated with marriage." Gu Yanwu in the early Qing Dynasty. "Rizhilu" says: "The person with the surname Yan is a male distinction; the person with the surname Yan is a female distinction."

Based on the above four explanations, we can summarize the main functions of the surname as: ① Differentiation Race; ②Ming lineage; ③different marriage. In ancient times, people with the same surname did not get married. For example, "Zuo Zhuan·Xin Gong Twenty-Three Years" said: "Men and women with the same surname will not be born together." "Guoyu·Jin Yu" also said: "Don't get married with the same surname, which is bad." From long-term practice, the ancients understood that inbreeding would produce undesirable offspring. In order to distinguish the similarities and differences between the surnames of men and women, and thus decide whether to marry or not, it was very necessary to use surnames in the titles of aristocratic women.

In ancient times, the surnames of aristocratic women were more important than their given names. If women to be married wanted to be distinguished, they would add Meng (Bo), Zhong, Shu, and Ji to their surnames to indicate their ranking, such as Meng Jiang, Shu Wei ( kui), Ji Ji; after getting married, if you marry a monarch, you should add the name of your natal family to the surname, such as Qi Jiang, Jin Ji, Qin Ying; if you marry a doctor, add the doctor's surname before the surname, such as Zhao Ji (wife of Zhao Shui), Tangjiang (wife of Duke Tang); if the husband dies, the husband's posthumous title should be added to the surname, such as Wujiang (wife of Duke Wu of Zheng), Wenying (wife of Duke Wen of Jin). The purpose of this is to avoid marriages with the same surname. Zheng Qiao's "Tongzhi" said: "surnames are used to distinguish marriages, so there are differences between the same surname, different surnames, and common surnames; those with the same surname but different surnames can be married, but those with the same surname but different surnames cannot be married.

"The ancients regarded this matter as very important. At that time, they did not necessarily consider it from the perspective of eugenics and eugenics, but more emphasis on etiquette. Therefore, even if you want to buy a concubine, and the concubine does not know her surname, you must use divination methods. Judgment. In the Spring and Autumn Period, Lu Zhaogong married a Wu girl as his wife. Since both countries had the surname Ji, in order to avoid people's criticism, he had to call the Wu girl "Wu Mengzi" and did not dare to publicly state her surname as "Ji". Xian Gong marries Li Ji, which is an act of disrespect, because both Jin and Li have the surname Ji.

Let’s talk about the role of surname: first, it shows the paternal blood relationship; second, it distinguishes the nobleness of personal status. The patriarchal system of the Zhou Dynasty was strict, and only aristocratic men were qualified to be called surnames. At that time, men were given surnames instead of surnames, because they were born with surnames, and the surnames of the ancestors were known for a long time, and the surname alone represented the ancestor. The surname can no longer express the current status. Therefore, people must know who the grandfather is, which is the key to naming a person. Because the surname indicates a person's status, the surname often changes, especially for princes and officials.

In the Warring States period, great social changes occurred, and the old aristocrats began to decline, and many of them became civilians and even slaves. Therefore, the "family" indicating aristocratic status became unnecessary. After the Qin Dynasty, In the Han Dynasty, surnames and surnames were combined into one.

Another issue that needs to be explained is that in the pre-Qin Dynasty, only nobles had surnames, while ordinary civilians and slaves did not have surnames. For example, "Xue Yi". The "Yiqiu" in the chapter is the chess player named "Qiu"; the "Youmeng" is the Paiyou (artist) named "Meng"; and the "Paoding" is the chef named "Ding". They all have surnames, and they are all called by the profession they are engaged in or the expertise they have. There is also "Gongshu Pan (Ban)". Gongshu is the character and Ban is the name. Because he is from the Lu country, he is also called Lu Ban. . It means that the carpenter named "Ban" in Lu State did not have a surname. After the Han Dynasty, civilians could also be called by their own surnames. Therefore, the term "people" was used in Zhou and Zhou Dynasties. In the past, it referred to the nobility. "Baixin" means "hundred officials", as in "Yao Dian", "The common people are known as the common people." "Confucius said: "The common people, the hundred officials" (the surname of the Baiguan clan), Zheng's note: "The common people, the fathers, sons and brothers of the ministers. "After the Han Dynasty, the common people referred to ordinary civilians.

(3) How the surname was formed

The formation of the surname is a relatively complicated issue, with many social reasons and historical factors. Reasons. To sum up, there are the following situations:

1. Those who take the title of the country as their surname, such as:

After the surname of Emperor Yan Jiang, Taigong hoped that Jiang Ziya would help King Wu to destroy him. Shang had meritorious service and was granted the title of Qi State in Yingqiu, Shandong. Later generations took Qi as their surname: Qin - after Zhuanxu Ying, Sun Feizi, a descendant of Boyi, was famous for raising horses, and King Xiao of Zhou granted him the title of Qi Gu. (now southwest of Tianshui, Gansu) was a vassal state. Later Qin Xianggong escorted King Ping of Zhou to move eastward and was promoted to a prince. When Qin Shihuang destroyed the six kingdoms and unified the world, he died in his second generation and his descendants took the country as their surname.

Wu - After Huangdi Ji's surname, Taibo, the eldest son of King Tai of Zhou, fled to the southeastern coastal area in order to make way for talents. The indigenous people supported him as the leader and established the Kingdom of Wu. In the late Spring and Autumn Period, it became a powerful country and dominated one area, but was later destroyed by the Kingdom of Chu. , the descendants took Wu as their surname.

Song - originated from the surname Zi. After King Wu destroyed the Shang Dynasty, King Zhou's brother Wei Ziqi was granted a title in the Shangqiu area and established the Song Dynasty. More than 700 years later, it was The Qi Kingdom was destroyed, and the descendants took the Song Dynasty as their surname.

The surname of Chu - Mi Xiong (yu) was once the teacher of King Wen of Zhou. King Cheng of Zhou made Xiong Yi, the great grandson of Wu Xiong, a prince and made him his capital. Danyang established the Kingdom of Jing. Later Xiong Tong proclaimed himself King Wu, and his son moved the capital to E (Jianling, Hubei) and changed the country's name to Chu. The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were one of the powerful states, but they were later destroyed by Qin, and their descendants took Chu as their surname.

Lu - originated from the surname Ji. After King Wu destroyed the Shang Dynasty, his younger brother Zhou Gongdan was granted the title of Lu (in the area of ??Qufu, Shandong). However, he wanted to stay in the capital to assist King Wu, so he sent his son Boqin to govern. Later, it was destroyed by the Chu State, and its descendants took Lu as their surname.

Jin - originated from the surname Ji. Uncle Yu, the third son of King Wu of Zhou Dynasty, was granted the title of Tang Dynasty. The name is Jin.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Wen of Jin once dominated the princes. Later, the political power gradually fell into the hands of several ministers. After the three families of Han, Zhao, and Wei were divided into Jin, the Kingdom of Jin ceased to exist, and their descendants took Jin as their surname.

In addition, people like Yan, Zheng, Wei, Cao, Ren, Lu, Liang, Shen, Huo, Geng, etc. all take Guo as their surname, so I won’t go into details here.

2. The surname is named after the name of the place where it was entrusted, such as:

Liu——has several origins, one of which is derived from the surname Ji. In the Spring and Autumn Period, King Kuang of Zhou granted his youngest son Wang Ji to Liu Yi ( Now south of Yanshi County, Henan), his name was Liu Kanggong, and his descendants were called the Liu family.

Qu - Qu Yuan's ancestor Qu Xia was the son of Xiong Tong, King of Chu Wu. He was granted the title of Qu (now Jigui, Hubei), and later generations took Qu as their surname.

Qu - originated from the surname Ji. Marquis Mu of Jin appointed his young son as a teacher in Quwo, known as Uncle Huan of Quwo. His grandson Wugong annexed Jin and established himself as Jin Wugong. His descendants took Quwo as their surname. .

Cui - originated from the surname Jiang. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, Ji Zi, the legitimate son of Duke Ding of Qi, let Guo Shuyi live in Cuiyi (now northwest of Zhangqiu County, Shandong), and his descendants took Cui as their surname.

Chang - originated from the surname Ji. The grandson of Uncle Kang of Weiguo grew up in Chang (today's east of Weishan County, Shandong Province), and his descendants took Chang as their surname.

Jie - originated from the surname Ji. Uncle Yu Zi of the Tang Dynasty gathered good food in Jie (now Jiezhou, southwest of Yuncheng, Shanxi), and his descendants took Jie as their surname.

Xiao - originated from the surname Zi, a descendant of Song Weizi. The descendants of the public clan were granted the title of Xiao Yi (now Xiao County, Anhui), and their descendants took Xiao as their surname.

3. Taking the names of previous officials as surnames

History - Yin Yi, the Taishi of the early Western Zhou Dynasty, was a role model for historians in his integrity. Since he was a Taishi all his life, his descendants took the official name of Shi as their surname.

Shi - In the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the officials in charge of music in the court were called Shi. For example, during the reign of King Zhou, there was Shi Yan, during the Spring and Autumn Period, Jin had Shi Kuang, Lu had Shi Yi, and Wei had Shi Juan. Zheng Guoyou's Shi Kui (kui) and others were all famous musicians, and their descendants took their famous official teachers as their surnames.

Sikong - According to legend, Shaohao set up the official position of Sikong to be responsible for the construction of water conservancy and civil engineering projects in the world. The Zhou Dynasty renamed Dongguan as Da Sikong. It is said that during the Yao period, Dayu was appointed Sikong, and Yu's descendants became officials. The name is Sikong.

Sikou - According to legend, there was the official position of Sikou during the Xia and Shang Dynasties, in charge of public security and prisons. In the early Zhou Dynasty, a descendant of his own surname Su Ansheng served as the Sikou of the Zhou Dynasty, and some of his descendants took Sikou as their surname.

Situ - is also an ancient official name. It was established during the reign of Yao and Shun. It was responsible for educating the people and administrative affairs. In the Zhou Dynasty, local officials were regarded as great Situ, which was equivalent to the prime minister. According to legend, Shun was a disciple of Yao, and his descendants took this as their surname.

Shangguan - originated from the surname Mi. During the Warring States Period, Jin Shang, a descendant of the Duke of Chu, was appointed as Shangguan official, and his descendants took Shangguan as their surname.

Lezheng - the official of Lezheng was established in the Zhou Dynasty, and his descendants took Lezheng as their surname.

4． The surname is based on the name, surname, and posthumous title of the ancestor.

Kong - originated from the surname Zi, Wei Zi was granted the title of Song Dynasty, and descended from the fifth generation grandson of Xianggong of Song Dynasty. His name was Jia, and his surname was Kongfu. He served as Grand Sima of the Song Dynasty and was killed in the turmoil. His son Mu Jin's father fled to the State of Lu and took his father's character "Kong" as his surname.

Zhuang - According to the posthumous title law of the Zhou Dynasty, monarchs who liked to conquer were often given the posthumous title of "Zhuang" after their death. In the Spring and Autumn Period, there were King Zhuang of Chu, Duke Zhuang of Zheng, Duke Zhuang of Song, etc. Their descendants took the posthumous name "Zhuang" as their surname.

Niu - originated from the surname Zi. In the late Western Zhou Dynasty, Niu's father, a senior official in the Song Dynasty, was appointed as a Sikou. During the reign of Duke Wu of the Song Dynasty, the nomadic Chang Geng people attacked the Song Dynasty. Niu's father led his army to resist, but unfortunately died in the battle. His descendants took his name as their surname.

Meng - originated from the surname Ji. Qingfu, son of Duke Huan of Lu and brother of Duke Zhuang, killed two monarchs in succession, arousing people's opposition and was later forced to commit suicide. His descendants should be called Zhongsun. , in order to avoid the crime of regicide, he was renamed Mengsun, and his descendants took Meng as their surname.

Shi - originated from the surname Ji. Wei Jingbo, the sixth grandson of Uncle Wei Kang, had a grandson named Gongsun Que (que), also known as Shi Que. With the help of the Chen State, the two villains Zhou Xu and Shi Hou of the Wei State were eliminated, and their descendants took Shi as their surname.

5． The surname is based on the occupation and skill, such as:

Wu - In ancient times, people who specialized in summoning gods and ghosts were called witches. There was Wu Peng in the Yellow Emperor's time, and Wu Xian in the Shang Dynasty. Their descendants took their profession of "witchcraft" as their surname.

Divination - ancient people were superstitious and had to perform divination in everything. The Zhou Dynasty set up divination officials, and their subordinates were called divination people. According to legend, Taikang, the Queen of Xia, had a younger brother who was granted the title of divination in the State of Shen, and some of his descendants were divination people. People's descendants take divination as their surname.

Zhen - originally the name of the wheel used in pottery making. Later, the official in charge of pottery making was also called Zhen. Legend has it that Shun came to the East to help the locals improve their pottery making technology, and it soon developed into Zhen. The city is now the city of Juan (Juan) in Shandong (in ancient times, Juan and Zhen were common). Shun's descendants stayed to serve as pottery officials, and their descendants took Zhen as their surname.

Qian - originated from the surname Peng. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, Peng Ping, a descendant of Peng Zu, was appointed as a sergeant in the Qian Mansion, and his descendants took Qian as their surname.

6. The surname is based on things, such as:

Dou - originated from Si's surname. After the Xia Dynasty, Xiang encountered difficulties from the Youqiong family, and his concubine Youyui's family was pregnant. She escaped from the cave and rushed back to You. The son of the still family was Shaokang. When he grew up, he restored the Xia Dynasty. He had two sons. The eldest son Shu succeeded to the throne. The second son Long stayed in the still family. To commemorate his mother's escape from the cave, he named Dou as his surname.

Zhang - Legend has it that the fifth son of Xuanyuan (some say Shaohao) used a bow to draw birds in a net, so he was given the surname Zhang.

Che - During the reign of Emperor Zhao of the Western Han Dynasty, Prime Minister Tian Qianqiu was allowed to leave the palace in a small car because of his old age. He was named Che Prime Minister at that time, and his descendants took Che as their surname.

Hong - a descendant of the surname Gong, because his ancestor, Gong, was named the God of Water. To commemorate this, the name "Hong" was added next to the word "water".

Dao - There is a Dao surname in Yangqu, Shanxi. The ancestors took refuge on the island, and later generations took Dao as their surname.

7. The surname is based on the characteristics of the place where they live, such as:

Dongshan - the descendants of Gaoluo's family in Dongshan take the surname of Dongshan where their ancestors lived.

Dongguo - originated from the surname Jiang. In ancient times, the outer city was called Guo. The descendants of Duke Huan of Qi lived in the east gate area of ??Linzi outer city and were called Dongguo doctors. The descendants took Dongguo as their surname.

Ximen - originated from the surname Ji. A duke of Zheng State lived in Ximen, and later generations took Ximen as their surname.

Nangong - originated from the surname Ji, who lived in Nangong in the state of Lu. Because he lived in Nangong, descendants took Nangong as their surname.

Beiqiu - "Huainanzi" has the Donghai Beiqiu surname, because the ancestors lived in Donghai Beiqiu, and the descendants of later generations took Beiqiu as their surname.

Baili - originated from the surname Ji. Bailixi of Yu State was originally a descendant of Yu Zhong. His surname was Ji and his given name was Xi. Because his family lived in Baili Township, he was known as Bailixi. When Qin became a great official, his descendants took Baili as their surname.

8. The surname was changed due to various reasons, such as:

He - after the destruction of Korea, the descendants were scattered all over the country. One branch lived in the Jianghuai area. The local people pronounced it "Han", so they called it "Han".

Xi - in the Spring and Autumn Period, the 13th generation grandson Ji Huan, who was mentioned in the official records of the Jin Dynasty, was a vassal of Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu's name was Xiang Yu. In order to avoid the taboo of Xiang Ji, the name Huan was changed to Xi.

He - Qingchun, a minister of the Eastern Han Dynasty, changed his family name from Qing to He to avoid the taboo of Emperor An of the Han Dynasty (named Qing).

Shuai - After Sima Yan, Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty, proclaimed himself emperor on behalf of the Wei Dynasty, he honored Sima Shi as Emperor Jing, which made the world avoid using the word "shi". Therefore, the surname "Shi" was changed to Shuai by reducing the strokes.

Zhu - During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cong (cong) Yanghou Zhuyan believed that the surname originated from the two sages Boyi and Shuqi, so he added two under Zhuxia and renamed it Zhu.

Tian - originated from the surname Gui. In the Spring and Autumn Period, Chen Wan, the son of Chen Guoligong, fled to Qi State for refuge and changed his surname to Tian. At that time, Chen and Tian had the same pronunciation.

Guo - Uncle Liu, the younger brother of King Wen, was granted the title of Guo. Later, the Guo Kingdom was destroyed by the Jin Dynasty, and the son Pei changed his surname to Guo.

Yuan - The Northern Wei Dynasty was a political power established by the Xianbei people. The surname was Tuoba. During the reign of Emperor Xiaowen, Tuoba was changed to Yuan, which means the best surname in the world.

9. The phenomenon of multiple surnames appearing in one family

Li——Originally, his surname was based on his official position. Ni Tao was the legendary leader of the Dongyi tribe, and his activities were located in the area of ??Qufu City, Shandong Province today. When Yao was the leader of the Yanhuang Yi Alliance, Neng Tao served as a Liguan and was in charge of criminal law. His descendants followed his official position and named their family Li clan. Neng Tao was known for his integrity. After Shun succeeded Yao to the throne, he continued to be used in important positions.

Later Li Zheng served as an official in the Shang Dynasty. He dared to give direct advice and offended King Zhou of Shang Dynasty. He was punished and died. His wife Qihe fled with her son Lizhen to Yihouzhixu (today's Yihe River Basin in western Henan), where she hid and survived by eating muzi (plum tree fruits). So starting from Li Zhen, the Li family name was changed to Li family name in order to commemorate Li Zi who preserved the Li family name.

Wang - is a surname with many origins and various clans. Specifically, there are kings with the surname Ji from the Zhou Dynasty, kings with the surname Gui from Yushun, and kings with the surname Zi from the Shang Dynasty. There are also kings, given surnames, and Wang surnames from ethnic minorities. The only thing they have in common is that most of them have Jue as their surname.

The descendants of Bi Gonggao, the 15th son of King Wen of Zhou Jichang, were originally from the royal family, so they took Wang as their surname. They mainly lived in Jingzhao (today's Xi'an, Shaanxi), Hejian (today's Hebei) and other places.

Ji Qinxin, King of Zhou Ling, reigned for twenty-seven years. His son Ji Jin once criticized and admonished him, but he was deposed as a commoner and lived in the area of ????Jiaonan County, Shandong Province today. Because the ancestor of Ji Jin and his descendants was the Emperor of Zhou, people called them the Wang family at that time, and they took Wang as their surname from then on.

In 225 BC, the State of Wei was destroyed by the State of Qin, and its descendants were scattered all over the country. Because they came from princes, the world called these people the Wang family.

Lord Xinling, one of the famous "Four Gentlemen of the Warring States Period" in history, was the son of King Zhao of Wei. In the dynasty, the descendants of Lord Xinling were summoned to the dynasty to serve as palaces, and were granted the title of Marquis of Lanling. At that time, people considered him to be from a royal family, and called him the Wang family, and extended his surname to him. All of the above are from the Wang family of the Zhou Dynasty.

In 386 BC, the monarchy of the Qi Kingdom surnamed Jiang was seized by the Tian family. The Tian family was a descendant of the legendary emperor Shun, with the surname Gui. The State of Qi was destroyed by the State of Qin in 221 BC. Since the ancestors of each branch of the Tian family were emperors and princes, they were called the Wang family. This comes from the Wang family with the surname Gui.

There is also the Wang family that comes from the surname Zi. Zi's ??surname is the surname of the Shang Dynasty. The last emperor, Zhou, was violent and promiscuous. His uncle Bigan tried to dissuade him many times. Zhou became angry and killed him, and performed a dissection to examine his heart. The surname Wang is after Bigan.

In ancient times, many descendants of ethnic minority tribal leaders and political kings also had the surname Wang. The reason is roughly the same as the above-mentioned Wang surnames from Ji, Gui, and Zi. For example, Wang Shichong of the Sui Dynasty was originally from the Hu Zhi clan in the Western Regions. After entering the Central Plains, he assumed the surname of Wang.

Wang Sengbian, a Liang general in the Southern Dynasties, was originally from the Wuwan clan and belonged to the Xianbei clan. Another example is Hanlile Khan, the chief of the Kele tribe in the Mongolian Plateau, who was named king by the Wanyan family in the Jin Dynasty and changed his name to Wang Han.

In history, many people were given the surname Wang. In 8 AD, Wang Mang usurped the throne of the Liu Han Dynasty and established a new dynasty. He gave the descendants of Prince Dan of Yan during the Warring States period as kings. The Zhu Ming Dynasty gave many Mongolians in the Yuan Dynasty the surname Wang. This is the king who gave the surname. This has added new members to the already numerous and widely distributed Wang team.

Historically, the Wang family mainly developed and multiplied in the north in the early days. The Wang family moved to the south of the Yangtze River in the late Western Jin Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, Chen Zheng and Chen Yuanguang, their father and son, were ordered to enter Fujian, and they were accompanied by three generals named Wang who settled there. During the reign of Emperor Xizong of the Tang Dynasty, Wang Chao and Wang Shenzhi from Gushi, Henan, entered Fujian, and some members of the Wang clan followed them. Starting from the late Ming Dynasty, people from the Wang family moved to Taiwan one after another. From the Ming and Qing Dynasties, people with the Wang surname began to emigrate overseas, spreading to famous places in Europe, America, and Southeast Asia.

Liu - takes Yi as his surname. According to expert research, there are more than 60 million people with the surname Liu in the world, which can be called "Liu everywhere". According to historical records, there are five origins.

After Emperor Yao Tao of the Tang clan (Yiqi clan, Yiqi clan), he was granted the title of Liu (now Tang County, Hebei Province), and his descendants

took this surname. His grandson Liu Lei was able to tame dragons and served the Queen of Xia. He was given the title of Yulong Clan by Kong Jia, the thirteenth emperor of the Xia Dynasty. This is Liu with the surname Qi.

During the Western Zhou Dynasty, King Cheng of Zhou granted the son of Wang Ji to Liu Yi (southwest of today's Yanshi County, Henan Province), and his descendants took Yi as their surname. This is Liu with the surname Ji.

In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu tribe became powerful. Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, adopted a marriage policy and married the royal eldest daughter to the Xiongnu Chanyu Maodun (sound mo

du Modu) as his wife. Maodun's surname is Luantang (pronounced luan

di Luan low). According to the custom of the Xiongnu, nobles all take their mother's surname, so the descendants of the Luotang family are all surnamed Liu. Liu Yuan, the founder of the Han Dynasty during the "Five Husties", was a Xiongnu noble.

The Liu Han Dynasty once granted the Xiang family and the Lou family the Liu family name.

Ding - Many ethnic groups have the surname Ding. However, its family and surname origin are more complicated. According to relevant historical records, the surname Ding has at least five origins.

The first one can be found in "The Examination of Surnames", which says: "Tai Gong's Golden Chamber, King Wu attacked Zhou, Marquis Ding did not go to court, and the surname Ding came into being." When King Wu of Zhou attacked Zhou , there were princes named Ding. However, there are no more written records about the details of this prince named Ding.

The second surname of the Ding family comes from the Jiang Ziya clan. Jiang Ziya was a great hero of the Zhou Dynasty. After the death of his son Jiang Ji, he was also posthumously named Ding Gong by the King of Zhou. His descendants took Ding as their surname to commemorate their ancestors who once respected Ding Gong. The historical records are relatively detailed. "Ding's surname is Jiang. Qi Taigong was born in Gong, and his descendants take Ding as their surname." (See "General Chronicles. Clan Overview. Taking Ci as the surname") Since the advent of this branch with the surname Ding, it has the largest scattered area. The largest number of people. In other words, for thousands of years, most of the Chinese surnames Ding originated from this lineage. The main birthplace of this series is in Jiyang, Shandong Province today.

The third branch of the Ding family originated from the Three Kingdoms period. This is what "Three Kingdoms·Wu Zhi·Sun Kuang Biography" says: Sun Quan's clansman Sun Kuang caused a fire in the military grain warehouse due to his negligence, which delayed the war opportunity. Sun Quan was furious and did not allow Sun Kuang to be named Sun. Sun Kuang's descendants were also forced to adopt the surname Ding.

Since the Three Kingdoms period, among the Ding surnames, there have been three surname sources, which have multiplied and grown together and been passed down from generation to generation. Later, the fourth and fifth branches of the surname Ding appeared, with the surname Yuan. One group was from the Western Regions and changed their surname to Ding, while the other group was changed from the Ding family name.

(4) How many surnames are there in our country?

How many surnames are there in our country? This is a very difficult question to answer accurately. Because surnames are constantly evolving with the development of society.

There were not many surnames in the early days of the Chinese nation. According to the records of Gu Yanwu's "Rizhilu", there were no more than 50 surnames in the Spring and Autumn Period. There were 130 surnames listed in "Jijiupian" of Shiyou in the Western Han Dynasty. "Surnames Chapter" lists 500 ancient surnames. Taizong of the Tang Dynasty ordered Wen Yanbo to assign 193 surnames. "Hundred Family Surnames" compiled in the Northern Song Dynasty included 438 surnames. Statistics from Zheng Qiao's "Tongzhi" There were 1,745 surnames at that time. There were 3,736 surnames in Ma Duanlin's "Wen Tong Kao" of the Yuan Dynasty. There were 4,657 surnames in the "Su Wen Tong Kao" compiled by Wang Qi (qi) of the Ming Dynasty. Zhang Shu of the Qing Dynasty compiled "The Origin of Surnames" after research. , there are 5129 surnames.

It is difficult to say that the above records are accurate, but we can clearly see that surnames are constantly increasing. With the development of society and the growth of population, there are more and more people. Of course, there are also some surnames that have disappeared in history, such as tiger, dog, dolphin, snake, chicken, sheep, etc. These surnames are formed from primitive totem worship objects. They existed in ancient times, but it is difficult to see them now. The number of compound surnames of ethnic minorities has also decreased a lot. According to research by Du Ruofu and Yuan Yida of the Institute of Genetics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, more than 300 compound and multi-character surnames of ethnic minorities appeared in documents from the Jin Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, but less than 20 are used so far, such as Murong, Huyan, Yuchi, Helian, Yuwen, Tuoba, Bigan, Daye, Helan, Hulv, Huli, Changsun, Keying, Pugu, Qutu, Shiyun, Xiner, Yinho, etc. Most of them have been changed to Han surnames.

The increase of Han surnames in ancient times was mainly the increase of "family name", as shown in the eight aspects we introduced above. Many new surnames have appeared in modern times. Most of them are due to intermarriage or adoption between two families. The purpose is to inherit the incense of the two families. Therefore, when children are born, they have the surname of both parents, such as Lu Fei in Zhejiang, Qian Wang in Fujian, and Qian Wang in Taiwan. Zhang Jian and Fan Jiang, Liu Hu from Guangdong, etc. These new surnames will be on the rise with the country's one-child policy.

After liberation, the country organized and conducted four censuses. As a result, we know more about our country’s surnames than before. As of 1984, there were 5,652 surnames found in literature, including 3,484 single surnames, 2,032 compound surnames, and 146 three-character surnames. This does not include the four-character surnames and the surnames translated from Mongolian and Manchu immigrants who immigrated to the Central Plains during the Yuan and Qing dynasties, as well as the surnames of ethnic minorities in the border areas.

In 1983, Murong Yi compiled and published the "Dictionary of Ancient and Modern Chinese Surnames". In his preface, he mentioned that there are more than 6,300 ancient and modern surnames in the Chinese nation.

Among the many surnames mentioned above, which surname has the largest population? There are several materials that give different opinions. As the saying goes, "King Zhang, Li Zhao and Liu everywhere". One source said that people with the surname Zhang have the largest population, at least 75 million people, accounting for 9.7% of the total population; another report by Xinhua News Agency on May 2, 1987, was from Du Ruofu, Institute of Genetics, Academy of Sciences. After years of research, Yuan Yida believes that among the Han surnames in the country, the surname Li is the most common, accounting for about 7.9% of the Han population, more than 8.77 million people; the surname Wang accounts for 7.4%, accounting for more than 8,000) people; the surname Zhang accounts for >

7.1%, more than 78 million people, Liu surname accounts for 5.4%, more than

60 million people, Chen surname accounts for 4.5%, more than 50 million people. The total population of the above five major surnames is 350 million.

There is another material provided by the "Social Science News" on September 26, 1991. According to a study by He Guangyue of the Hunan Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, the surname Chen is the largest surname in China, with 70 million people in the country, accounting for 6.8% of the country's population. Over thousands of years, 39 surnames have branched out from the Chen surname, such as Yuan, Lu, Tian, ??Sun, Hu, etc. Many of them have descendants of the clan with the surname Chen. After adding them up and counting, the Chinese surnames are The first one should be Chen.

The family surnamed Chen constitutes the main body of the Han nation and the Chinese nation