The world's most populous nation has a long history of using
surnames. But in an increasingly industrialized society, surnames
are losing some of their functions. Yet their formation,
development, and evolution through the ages mean surnames have
become an important part of Chinese culture.
How surnames originated and developed is a fascinating subject
involving various spheres from sociology, history, linguistics,
philology, geography, folk customs, demography, to toponymy. A look
into Chinese surnames opens a small window onto an interesting part
of China's vast and varied culture.
Many cultures in the world became extinct with the demise of the
nations that created them. Chinese surname culture has survived and
developed over the past four or five thousand years. Surnames have
been used to represent the origin of clans and families, recording
the kindred formation of the Chinese nation. They have played an
important role in making China a cohesive nation.
So Many People, So Few Surnames
Most Chinese surnames in use today were handed down from
thousands of years ago, and some statistics argue that there are
about Chinese 5,600 surnames, while the more accountable data is
from 4,000 to 6,000, of which about 1,000 are most frequently used.
Many surnames have clear origins and have evolved throughout
history with rich and interesting stories. For instance, the
surname Liu has five separate origins; meaning people with this
surname today may actually be unrelated to each other. Meanwhile,
other surnames, like Gu and Wu, originate from the same
ancestor.
The Book of Family Names (Baijiaxing), a popular children's
primer in ancient China, was written in 960. It listed 408
single-character surnames, and 30 double-character ones. These are
some of the most common ones:
The top ten surnames used by about 40% of Chinese - more than
400 people: Zhang, Wang, Li, Zhao, Chen, Yang, Wu, Liu, Huang, and
Zhou.
The second ten most popular surnames, used by more than 10% of
Chinese: Xu, Zhu, Lin, Sun, Ma, Gao, Hu, Zheng, Guo, and Xiao.
The third ten most popular surnames, used by about 10% of
Chinese: Xie, He, Xu (written with a different character from
another Xu), Song, Sheng, Luo, Han, Deng, Liang, and Ye.
The following 15 surnames are also used by about 10% of the
population: Fang, Cui, Cheng, Pan, Cao, Feng, Wang (written with a
different character from another Wang), Cai, Yuan, Lu, Tang, Qian,
Du, Peng, and Lu.
So in total, more than 70% of the Chinese population uses the
same 45 surnames. The other 30% are less frequently used surnames
like Mao, Jiang, Bai, Wen, Guan, Liao, and Chi etc.
The Origins and Development of Chinese
Surnames
The origin of Chinese surnames can be traced back to the
matriarchal age in primitive society, when Shi (early surnames)
were used to distinguish different tribes. Most of the earliest
Chinese surnames, or Shi, which are still in use today, have the
word "woman" as a character component. Marriage within a tribe of
the same surname was forbidden, and children were raised by and
given the surname of their mother's tribe. The development of
surnames was a sign of societal progression, demonstrating that
Chinese people were aware of the disadvantages of close
inter-breeding.
With the development of society and the economy, the matrilineal
system was gradually replaced by patriarchy and the class system.
Another form of surnames, Xing, after the names of emperor-endowed
land appeared. By the Warring States Period (475-221BC), the
distinction between Xing and Shi disappeared, and the meaning of
surnames was the same as it is today.
Unlike western surnames that were mainly formed in the Middle
Ages, with some earlier ones in Greek and Roman times, Chinese
surnames mostly originated 5,000 years ago, and were consistently
developed and passed on in the following generations.
Chinese surnames derive basically from the following
origins:
First, surnames came from the name of a place, location, or
kingdom name, such as Zhao, Ximen (west gate), Zheng, and Su.
Second, ancient surnames like Ren, Feng, and Zi were
inherited.
Third, the names of ancestors like Huangpu, Gao, Diao, Gong, and
Shi were taken as surnames.
Fourth, words meaning seniority among brothers, like Bo
(eldest), Zhong (second eldest), Shu (younger), and Ji (youngest),
are used as surnames.
Fifth, ancient official positions are also used as surnames,
such as Shi (historiographer), Cang (official in charge of a
storehouse), Ku (official in charge of ordinance), Situ (official
in charge of registration of cultivated land, settlement, and
unpaid peasant labor), Sikou (minister of justice), and Taishi
(astronomy and calendar official).
Sixth, profession and craft were used as surnames as well, for
instance, Wu (wizard), Tu (butcher), You (actor or actress), and Bu
(divination).
Seventh, ancestor's posthumous titles, like Dai and Zhao, were
also used as surnames.
Eighth, when an array of ethnic groups amalgamated with the Han
people in ancient China, a lot of these people changed their
surnames to single character Han surnames. For instance, Batuo was
changed to Yuan.
Ninth, some surnames were changed to avoid using taboo names
(usually emperors' names), and vouchsafed surnames. For example,
the imperial Li family of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) granted some
meritorious officials the surname of Li, so did the imperial Zhu
family in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
Tenth, family names were changed in order to avoid revenge
killings by family enemies.
However, within the twisting context of history, one Chinese
surname may have different origins, and many surnames may have come
from the same origin. Nowadays, a lot of new surnames have also
appeared, for instance, some parents combine both of their
single-character surnames to make a new double-character surname
for their newborn rather than sticking to the tradition of giving
the child the paternal surname. .
Mythological Origins of Chinese Surnames
Ji, one of the earliest Chinese surnames, is said to be related
to the Yellow Emperor, a legendary ruler and ancestor of the
Chinese nation. According to the Historical Records by Sima Qian,
the Yellow Emperor was originally surnamed Gongsun with the given
name of Xuanyuan, but he later changed the surname to Ji because he
"lived near Ji River for a long time." Because he was considered
the greatest emperor in ancient China, more than 70 surnames
directly or indirectly originated from the Yellow Emperor's surname
Ji.
Legend goes that the Yellow Emperor had 25 sons, and 14 of them
got 12 surnames with Ji ranking the top. It is said that Houji, the
ancestor of the Zhou people, was the great grandson of Yellow
Emperor. He was also surnamed Ji and there is a myth about it.
Houji's mother was once on an outing and accidentally found some
footprints of a giant, she was very happy and followed these steps.
Later she gave birth to Houji. When Houji grew up, he taught people
about agriculture and he was endowed the surname of Ji.
The surname Si is related to Emperor Dayu, the founder of the
Xia Dynasty (About 21st -16th century BC) who once led the people
in preventin floods. It is said Dayu's mother once swallowed Job's
tears, gave birth to his son, and gave the child the surname Si,
because 'plant' is homophonous to Si.
The surname of the imperial family of the Shang Dynasty (about
16th -11th century BC) is Zi. Their ancestor Qi was the son of
Jiandi who was from a humble family. Mythology goes that Jiandi
once was bathing in the river and found a swallow's egg on the
bank. She ate it and gave birth to Qi. The Chinese character Zi can
mean egg and was used as a surname for Qi.
Surnames and Genetics
Aside from the cultural values, Chinese surnames are gradually
becoming more recognized in life science. In most cases, surnames
are passed down from generation to generation with kindred links.
Research into the distribution of surnames could offer some insight
into genetic structure, kinship among different groups, and
migration of Chinese people.
Customarily, Chinese people inherit their father's surname,
which theoretically means people with the same surname would share
the same Y chromosome. Surnames as a whole remain relatively
stable, yet there also are a lot of cases where people changed
their surnames. However, surnames are still an important starting
place to trace the origins and formation of the Chinese nation.
(China Daily July 20, 2007)
