The Origin of your Surname

last SG · 2005-05-25T15:02:06+00:00

Jiang (representing river) shared similar origins with the surnames Qin and Huang (representing yellow) in the Ying clan. The Ying clan’s origin could be tra...

DriftingGuy SG

How about the following surnames?

Loh or luo2; Peng; Ou yang; Zhu1; Sun1

Tuatau SG

Apologies to Dr Who for ursurping his thread.

Tuatau SG

Liang was the name of the state bestowed to the son of General Qin Zhong by King Ping (Zhou Pingwang) in the early years of the Spring and Autumn period. Qin Zhong had earlier earned credit and fame waging successful war campaigns for Ping. Later when Liang was annexed by the powerful state of Qin, the descendants of the general’s clan adopted the surname of Liang.

Tuatau SG

The surname Xu with the water radical hails from the Jiang (character representing ginger) clan, a major clan of powerful families in the Shang Dynasty. The clan claimed to have descended from Shennong (“Divine Farmer” ), also known as the Yan Emperor, a legendary emperor in Chinese mythology. Shennong was much revered because he taught people the practices of agriculture, which was at that time a highly-regarded aspect of the society. When the Jiang clan helped King Wu (Zhou Wuwang) overthrow the Shang Dynasty, Wu rewarded them with the fertile state of Xu. After Xu was conquered by the state of Chu during the Warring States period, descendants of the Jiang clan changed their surname to Xu.

timble SG

Thank u Tautau.. what about Shi1, Xi1 Shi1 De4 Shi1

iveco SG

Was Jiang Ziya one of their members?

Tuatau SG

The surname Luo (character representing net) could have originated from the Yun (with the female radical) clan, which claimed descent from Zhurong, another legendary emperor in Chinese mythology. Zhurong was also known as the Fire god in some tales. The Yun clan was based in the state of Luo during the Zhou Dynasty, and the clan descendants adopted the surname of Luo when their homeland was annexed by the state of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period.

Tuatau SG

Originally posted by DriftingGuy:
How about the following surnames?
Loh or luo2; Peng; Ou yang; Zhu1; Sun1

Peng? I can't recall any common Chinese surname Peng.
Is it written with "ma" (character for horse)?

Tuatau SG

The double-character surname Ouyang was believed to have originated from Yu the Great who managed to control the floods during the rule of legendary emperor Shun. Yu’s descendants were based in the state of Yue during the Zhou Dynasty and when Yue was annexed by the state of Chu in the Warring States period, the king of Yue was bestowed a title in the Mount Ouyang region, and the descendants subsequently took up the surname of Ouyang.

Tuatau SG

The origin of surname Zhu (same as that of the Ming Dynasty’s founding emperor) came from the Cao clan which claimed to be descendants of the legendary emperor Zhuanxu. History has it that King Wu (Zhou Wuwang) had bestowed the states of Cao and Zhu (with the ear radical) to two factions of the clan in the Zhou Dynasty. During the Warring States period, the weak state of Zhu was crushed by a much stronger state of Chu and the surviving clan members changed their surname to Zhu (without the ear radical).

browniebaobao SG

How about 'Hu'?

Tuatau SG

The third surname on the list, Sun is one of the most popular surnames throughout the entire history of China. One source comes from King Wu's (Zhou Wuwang) half-brother in the Zhou Dynasty whose descendant adopted the style name (zi) of his grandfather -- Sun as his surname. Another comes from the descendants of honest official Bi Gan who was also a prince by lineage in the Shang Dynasty. Bi was killed by King Zhou (Shang Zhouwang) and his clan members, fearing persecution, fled and were scattered throughout the different states. To conceal their identities from enemies while reminding themselves of their common royal lineage, they all agreed to change their surnames to Sun (character meaning grandchild).

Tuatau SG

Shi (character representing to give or apply) was the name of a state in the first Chinese dynasty—Xia Dynasty founded by legendary emperor Yu the Great when he ascended his predecessor Shun’s throne. When the dynasty was succeeded by the Shang Dynasty and the state of Shi was no more, the citizens adopted the surname of Shi.

Tuatau SG

Originally posted by browniebaobao:
How about 'Hu'?

Thanks for the clarification. Didn't know whether "Oh" was Ou or Hu in Chinese.

Hu was the surname of Hu Gongman, a Zhou Dynasty noble claiming descent from legendary emperor Shun. He belonged to a clan that ruled the state of Chen (as mentioned earlier) before it was annexed by the state of Chu. While most surviving clan members adopted the surname of Chen, there were some who chose to stick with their original surname Hu instead.

Tuatau SG

Originally posted by iveco:
Was Jiang Ziya one of their members?

It would appear so, as Jiang played an instrumental role as advisor to King Wu (Zhou Wuwang) when the latter replaced King Zhou (Shang Zhouwang) to form a new dynasty. However, the Jiang clan supporting the rebellion was huge and Jiang Ziya was known to be an aloof genius, so it is not confirmed if the two were in any way related. My knowledge in these details is limited, maybe someone else could have come across this in other Chinese history books?

browniebaobao SG

thanks Tuatau...

so can I say that Chen and Hu are related?

Tuatau SG

Originally posted by browniebaobao:
so can I say that Chen and Hu are related?

They probably were, more than three thousand years ago. Smile

In fact, with new nation names coming up and many clans and families changing surnames here and there during those turbulent times, I wouldn't be surprised if the ancestors of people with different surnames today were somehow related then.

browniebaobao SG

so people say pple with same surname cannot get married...considered crap la hor? since pple with diff surname might be from same clan or family in the past..

Tuatau SG

Originally posted by browniebaobao:
so people say pple with same surname cannot get married...considered crap la hor? since pple with diff surname might be from same clan or family in the past..

Thought this was coming, that's why added "more than three thousand years ago". Smile

With that time frame in mind, it becomes rather pointless to argue whether people with different surnames are actually related or not because there really isn't any way we could trace the bloodline for evidence, is there?

However, from a genetic standpoint, inbreeding really isn't good for the offspring. So if it can be avoided, we should try to avoid it if we could help it, shouldn't we?

LazerLordz SG

I did read somewhere that Lin can be traced back to the Qin dynasty where it was a Princely title.

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