The surname Cai has two main origins. One is derived from the surname Ji, which comes from the Yellow Emperor's son Cai, and is a surname based on the ancestor's name; the other is derived from the surname change of various ethnic groups, which is a surname changed to a surname in Sinicization. The population is mainly distributed in Langfang, Hebei, Jiangxian, Shanxi, Huainan, Anhui, Tainan, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and other places. The main celebrities include Cai Yunbiao, a professional and technical major general of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

The origin of the surname

The first origin

It comes from the surname Ji, which comes from Cai, the son of the Yellow Emperor, and is a surname based on the name of the ancestor. According to the classic book "Tang Yun": "Cai, surname." This is also recorded in the documents "Collection of Chinese Surnames" and "Grand View of Surnames": "Cai, surname. There is this surname in Chengzhuang, Minquan County, Henan Province." Although some people rely on it. The two characters "cai" and "cai" in ancient Chinese have common meanings, so it is believed that the Cai family may be derived from the Cai family. However, most surname scholars currently believe that there is no historical data to verify this judgment. This book agrees with the theory that the Cai family originated from the Cai family. In fact, according to the record in the first volume of "Pengshi Dunmu Genealogy of Qingshan" in the collection of the Hunan Provincial Library: "The Yellow Emperor gave birth to twenty-five sons, in order: he married the Xiling family and gave birth to Changyi, Xuanxiao, and You , Qi, Feng Yi, Teng and other six sons, married the Fang Lei family's six sons, including Longmiao, Biao, Xun, Xiu, Qing and Cai, and the Diaoyu family's five sons, Yigu, Hui, Jinyun, Qiaobo and Ji, married Guifang's eight sons were Canglin, Yuyang, Yan, Zhanren, Yi, Yuzhi (Zhixu), Leizu, and Baimin. One daughter was named Hua. "Among them, Cai was born to Fang Lei." The ancestor of the Cai family is also the ancestor of the Cai family. In ancient times, the two words Cai and Cai had the same meaning, but the surname Cai was by no means a borrowed meaning, but had a very good reason. In ancient times, people used the "彡" symbol to represent the shape of objects. Later, "彡" was added next to the word "cai" to specify the colors of colorful and specific shapes. It is said in the historical book "The Chronicles of the Five Emperors": "Emperor Ku married Chen Feng's daughter and gave birth to Fangxun." Fangxun was Emperor Yao. Because Emperor Yao lived in Tao Tang, he was called Emperor Yao Tao Tang. Later, the "Jizhong Annals" unearthed in the fifth year of Xianning in the Jin Dynasty (AD 279) recorded the miracles of this ancient emperor: "Emperor Yao Tao Tang, whose mother was Qingdu, was born in the wilderness of Douwei. There are yellow clouds on it, and they are long. When you look at the three rivers, there are always dragons following you. Once the dragon turns away from the picture, it is said in the text: It is also blessed by the gods. The beard and hair are seven feet and two inches long, and the face is sharp and plump at the bottom. , with feet on the wings, and the wind blowing all around, pregnant by the red dragon, Yao was born in Danling in the fourteenth month. His shape is as shown in the figure, and he is ten feet long. He has holy virtues. He was granted the title of Tang Dynasty. He climbed up in his dream. "Jizhong Annals" is a chronicle of the Wei Si period, one of the Seven Heroes of the Wei State at the end of the Warring States Period. It was written approximately between 318 BC and 296 BC, and is generally recognized by historians. The ancient chronicles are more accurate than the "Historical Records" written by Sima Qian of the Western Han Dynasty, so it is also commonly known as the "Bamboo Chronicles" by later generations. In "Jizhong Annals", for the first time, the word "cai" was used to replace the word "cai", specifically to describe the color and shape of Emperor Yao's eyebrows. The so-called "eight eyebrow colors" are what we now describe as "wei". "Eight Eyebrows" and "Yao Mei", that is, "eight thick eyebrows", are very strong and majestic, so some people call Emperor Yao "Emperor Yao".

The descendants of the Cai family named Ji added the character "彡" to their surname, and they became the Cai family. The two surnames share the same origin.

The second origin

comes from the change of surnames of various ethnic groups, which belongs to the Chinese change of surnames into surnames. The Manchu Irha family is called Irha Hala in Manchu, which means "colorful silk and satin strip" in Chinese. This is an unorthodox surname of the Manchu people. It is rarely recorded in the revised history of Manchu officials. Today, there are this surname among the Manchu compatriots in Beijing.

After the late Qing Dynasty, most of the Manchu Ilha family took the Chinese surname Yi, and some took the Chinese surname and transformed it into the Cai family. It has been passed down from generation to generation, and most of them have changed their surname to Han.

The surname was the ancestor

Fangxun (Emperor Yao).

Migration distribution

Today’s Langfang City in Hebei Province, Jiangxian County and Yulin City in Shanxi Province, Changzhou City in Jiangsu Province, Huainan City in Anhui Province, Minquan County and Henan Province People of the Cai clan can be found in Zhecheng County, Xingcheng City in Liaoning Province, Longyan City in Fujian Province, Ji'an City in Jiangxi Province, Hangzhou City in Zhejiang Province, Tainan City in Taiwan Province, Singapore, South Korea and other places.

Historical celebrities

Cai Yunbiao: (1953 AD to present day), Manchu; native of Xingcheng, Liaoning. Famous professional and technical major general of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Senior engineer, satellite measurement and control expert.

Joined the Chinese People's Liberation Army in 1969, graduated from the Radio Department of Peking University in 1976, and graduated from Xi'an Jiaotong University in 1984. Cai Yunbiao has been working in the field of aerospace work for many years, and has participated in the command of the launch and measurement and control of satellites at home and abroad for many times. He is now the deputy commander of the Measurement and Control Center of Xichang Satellite Center.