The origin of surnames is complex and diverse. Some people take the country as their surname, some take the official position as their surname, and some take the profession as their surname. Let's look at the origins of the major surnames in China today.
1, surnamed Li
Li's "Li" was originally written as "Li" and later changed to Li. Li's ancestor is, and is also called "the four ancient saints". Hao Tao was the first person to make a criminal law, and the prison was also invented by this person. When he was in office, he promoted "five punishments" and "five religions" and was appointed as "the chief criminal officer" by Shun. Therefore, "Li surname" means taking the official position as the surname, and then changing "Li surname" into "Li surname". There are many arguments about why Li should be changed, but we can't confirm the authenticity, so I won't go into details.
2. Wang Xing
The origin of Wang surname is complex and there are many branches. One is from the surname Ji, and later is the East Prince, who was demoted to Shu Ren. Because of his status as a prince, the locals call them "the Wangs". Over time, Wang is the surname; The second one comes from Zi, whose ancestor is Bigan, also known as Prince Bigan. After Bi Gan's death, some descendants began to abandon their children and change their surnames. The other letter was written by Yao, a descendant of Yao. Other sources are mixed.
3. Zhang surname
The ancestor of Zhang's surname is that the origin of Zhang's surname is easy to see from the literal meaning. The fifth son of the so-called "bow is long and open" is the inventor of bow and arrow, so later generations take "Zhang" as their surname.
4. Liu surname
Liu is the surname with the largest number of emperors in the history of China. There are more than 1 1,000 people who call themselves emperors. Liu's surname is a typical "country as the surname" after Emperor Yao. Yao's descendant Qi was sealed in Liu Guo, and later generations thought it was his surname.
5. Chen surname
Like Liu, Chen's surname is based on the country, which originated from Gui's surname and is a descendant of Liu. Hu Gongman, a descendant of Shun Di, founded the State of Chen, which was later destroyed by the State of Chu. In order to commemorate it, people began to use the surname Chen.
6. Yang surname
As we all know, Yang was the national surname of the Sui Dynasty. There are many branches of Yang surname, most of which are from Ji surname, whose ancestor is Boqiao. It turns out that there was Yang in history. In the Spring and Autumn Period, Yang was destroyed and his second brother, Boqiao, was named the prefect. Boccio's descendants began to take Yang as their surname.
7. Zhao surname
We know that the hundred surnames came from the Song Dynasty, and the national surname of the Song Dynasty was Zhao, so Zhao ranked first among the hundred surnames. Zhao's surname originated from the won surname, and his ancestors were Zhao Fu. Zhao Fu, a descendant of Boyi, was a master driver in Zhou Muwang during the Western Zhou Dynasty. Xu rebelled and the situation was critical. At this time, Zhou Muwang is not in Beijing. Zhao Fu galloped his horse and traveled thousands of miles every day. Send it back to Beijing in time and send troops to crusade against Xu. Zhao Fu actively saved the country and named him Zhao Cheng. Zhao Fu-ren took Zhao as his surname.
8. Huang surname
The surname Huang also comes from the surname Won. After Boyi, the Yellow Kingdom was established in 2 148 BC, which lasted about 1500 years. Later, it was destroyed by Chu. After the country was destroyed, later generations took Huang as their surname.
9. Zhou surname
There are two main branches of Zhou surname, one is after Zhou Chang, a general in the Yellow Emperor period; The other is after Ji Chang, that is, from the surname Ji. After the demise of the Zhou Dynasty, some descendants of Ji began to take Zhou as their surname.
10, surnamed Wu
Wu surname comes from Ji surname, after the Yellow Emperor. In ancient times, "Wu tribe" gradually formed. Wu tribe is famous for its bravery and good fighting, and its ancestor is Wu Quan. In fact, there are too many surnames of Wu, including descendants of Wu whose surname is Guo.
1 1, surnamed Xu
The surname Xu also comes from the surname Won. After Boyi, Ruomu, the son of Boyi, was sealed in and made Xu. At that time, Xu Guocheng was the largest country in the East and supported more than 30 vassal states, so he rose up against Zhou Dynasty. At this time, he was in charge, sent troops to counter-insurgency, and hid in Pengcheng (Xuzhou), and his descendants continued to manage Xu. After Xu was destroyed by Wu, Xu people began to commemorate Guo Wei's family.
12, surnamed Sun
Sun surname comes from Ji surname and Mi surname. The surname Ji came from the son of Wei Wugong in the early Spring and Autumn Period, and later generations took the name of their ancestors as their surname. Sun Shi, from Mi's family, is also the name of the ancestor after Sun Shuai, the commander-in-chief of Chu.
13, Hu surname
The source of Hu surname is also very complicated, including Gui surname, Ji surname and official position. After Hu Gongman, the founder of the State of Chen, there was a big branch named Hu who was the ancestor of the surname.
14, surnamed Zhu
Zhu surname is the national surname of Ming Dynasty, which originated from Zhu Xiang family. Zhu Xiang family is one of the most influential emperors in the Yan Di system, and it is also the oldest of Zhu's surnames. Otherwise, it comes from the surname Qi, after Dan Zhu, the son of Emperor Yao.
15, high surname
Gao's surname comes from Jiang, the son of Lu Zhishen, Duke Wen of Qi in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and his ancestors were Gao Yi. There is also a part that Qi's son is called Gongzi Qi, with a high word, and his descendants also take Gao as their surname.
Let's talk about the origin of this 15 surname first, and then talk about it later. In fact, the origin of many surnames is not unique and absolute, and the origin of most surnames is complex and has many branches. Some surnames were given by the ancient emperors, some were changed to avoid the enemy, some were changed to avoid the royal family, and some were the surnames of ethnic minorities who entered the Central Plains after localization.