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''See List Of Common Chinese Surnames for the 100 most common surnames.'' Chinese family names are Patrilineal , passed from father to children. (In cases of adoption, the adoptee usually also takes the same surname.) Chinese women, after marriage, typically retain their birth surname. Historically, however, only Chinese men possessed xìng (family name), in addition to shì; the women had only the latter, and took on their husband's xìng after marriage. ORIGIN OF SURNAMES Prior to the Warring States Period (5th century BCE), only the royal family and the aristocratic elite could generally take surnames. Historically there was also difference between ''xing'' and ''shi''. ''Xing'' were surnames held by the immediate royal family. They generally are composed of a nü (女, meaning "female") radical which suggests that they originated from Matriarchal societies based on maternal lineages. Prior to the Qin Dynasty (3rd century BCE) China was largely a Feudal society. As fiefdoms were divided and subdivided among descendants, so additional sub-surnames known as ''shi'' were created to distinguish between different seniority of lineages among the nobles though in theory they shared the same ancestor. In this way, a nobleman would hold a ''shi'' and a ''xing''. After the states of China were unified by Qin Shi Huang , surnames gradually devolved to the lower classes and the difference between ''xing'' and ''shi'' blurred. ''Shi'' surnames, many of which survive to the present day, generally share twelve paths of origin: # From ''xing'': These were usually reserved for the central lineage of the royal family, with collateral lineages taking their own ''shi''. Of the six or so common ''xing'', only Jiang (姜) and Yao (姚) have survived as frequently occurring surnames. # From state names: Many commoners took the name of their state, either to show their continuing allegiance or as a matter of national and ethnic identity. Common examples include Song (宋), Wu (吴), Chen (陈). Not surprisingly, due to the population size of the peasantry, these are some of the most common Chinese surnames. # From the name of fiefs or place of origin. Fiefdoms were often granted to collateral branches of the aristocracy and it was natural as part of the process of sub-surnaming for their names to be used. An example is Di, Marquis of Ouyangting, whose descendants took the surname Ouyang . There are some two hundred examples of this identified, often of two-character surnames, but few have survived to the present. # From the names of ancestors: Like the previous example, this was also a common origin with close to 500 or 600 examples, 200 of which are two-character surnames. Often an ancestor's Style Name would be used. For example, Yuan Taotu took the second character of his grandfather's style name Boyuan (伯爰) as his surname. Sometimes titles granted to ancestors could also be taken as surnames. # From seniority within the family: In ancient usage, the characters of ''meng'' (孟), ''zhong'' (仲), ''shu'' (叔) and ''ji'' (季) were used to denote the first, second, third and fouth eldest sons in a family. These were sometimes adopted as surnames. Of these, Meng is the best known, being the surname of philosopher Mencius , for example. # From occupation: These could arise from both official positions, as in the case of Sima (司马), originally akin to "Minister of War". They could also arise from more lowly occupations, as with Tao (陶), meaning "potter" or Wu (巫), meaning "shaman". # From ethnic groups: Non-Chinese peoples in China sometimes took the name of their ethnic group as surname. The best example is Hu (胡), which originally referred to all "barbarian" groups on the northern frontier of China. DISTRIBUTION OF SURNAMES Surnames are not evenly distributed throughout China's geography. In northern China, Wang (王) is the most common surname, being shared by 9.9% of the population. Next are Li (李), Zhang (张) and Liu (刘). In the south, Chen (陈) is the most common, being shared by 10.6% of the population. Next are Li (李), Huang (黄), Lin (林) and Zhang (张). Around the major crossing points of the Yangtze River , the most common surname is Li (李), taking up 7.7%, followed by Wang (王), Zhang (张), Chen (陈) and Liu (刘). A 1987 study showed over 450 family names in common use in Beijing , but there were less than 300 family names in Fujian. {Link without Title} A study by Geneticist Yuan Yida has found that certain names appear most commonly in each province of China, as seen at right. ''Chén'' (trad ), which is only the 47th most common overall, is much more common in San Francisco 's Chinatown in the United States . As with the concentration of family names, this can also be explained statistically, as a person with an uncommon name could move to an unsettled area and leave this family name to large numbers of people. After the Song Dynasty, surname distributions in China largely stabilised. Villages were often made up of individuals with the same surname, often with a common male ancestor. They usually intermarried with nearby villages, creating clusters of individuals with similar genetic background. SURNAMES AT PRESENT Of the thousands of surnames which have been identified from historical texts prior to the Han Dynasty , most have either been lost or simplified. In recent centuries some two-character surnames have often dropped a character. Since the founding of the People's Republic Of China , moreover, some surnames have been graphically simplified. Although there are thousands of Chinese family names, the 100 most common surnames, which together make up less than 5% of those in existence, are shared by 85% of the population. The three most common surnames in Mainland China are Li , Wang and Zhang , which make up 7.9%, 7.4% and 7.1% respectively. Together they number close to 300 million and are easily the most common surnames in the world. In a 1990 study, the top 200 family names accounted for over 96% of a random sample of 174,900 persons, with over 500 other names accounting for the remaining 4%.[http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/encyclopedia/l/li/list_of_most_common_surnames.htm] In a different study (1987), which combined data from Taiwan and mainland China (sample size of 570,000 persons), the top 19 names covered 55.6% [http://sun-bin.blogspot.com/2005/12/chinese-and-korean-family-names.html], and the top 100 names covered 87% of the sample. Other data suggest that the top 50 names comprise 70% of the population.[http://www.diversity-whatworks.gov.uk/publications/pdf/hmlandregistryculturaldiversity.pdf] Most commonly occurring Chinese family names have only one character; however, about twenty , also romanized from the Manchu language as Aisin Gioro , which was the family name of the Manchu royal family of the Qing Dynasty .) can be converted into Teh, Tay, Tee, Zheng, Zeng, Chang, Cheng and Chung. USAGE In writing (張國榮). When the Western name and Chinese name are put together, it often becomes hard to tell what the family name is. Using Leslie Cheung as an example, some variants include:
Some publications and legal documents will print the family name in small capital letters to allow it to be easily distinguished, e.g. Leslie Cheung Kwok Wing. When no official Rominisation exists, translators often will use the transliteration best fit with the locale where the person is originated. For example, the pinyin transcription would be used for a person from Mainland China; Wade-Giles for someone from Taiwan; or a Cantonese-based Rominisation for someone from Hong Kong. Chinese women usually retain their maiden names after marriage. Outside of ) where Fang is her maiden name. It is thus, technically possible for a married woman to have a six-character full name if both she and her husband have compounded surnames such as in this hypothetical example: 歐陽司徒美英 or Mrs. Au-Yeung Szeto Mei-ying. Most Hong Kong women retain their own surnames after marriage or choose to be known as Mrs. (husband's surname). A NOTE ON USAGE OF MALAYSIAN CHINESE NAMES In countries like Malaysia where legal documents (e.g. Passport) do not usually indicate SURNAME but simply NAME in one line; Chinese Names especially the ones with a European/Western/Christian Given Name that precedes the Chinese Name format can potentially puzzle or baffle authorities in Western Countries. Like the Hong Kong Hybrid System (''see'' Usage), the Malaysian Chinese Name that includes a Western Given Name will appear as (using the Leslie Cheung example ''see'' Usage): "LESLIE CHEUNG KWOK WING", similarly in Singapore.Most likely than not the second part of this name "CHEUNG" is the SURNAME or FAMILY NAME and "LESLIE KWOK WING" the GIVEN NAMES. Or in another way of which is easily comprehended, some may appear as "CHEUNG KWOK WING @ LESLIE" or "CHEUNG KWOK WING @ LESLIE CHEUNG". Malaysian Chinese do not normally hyphenate their Chinese GIVEN NAMES. Therefore, for a Chinese Name that appears in Malaysian legal documents (using the Leslie Cheung example) the following provides an example how information should be entered in a form/ document issued by authorities in Western/ English Speaking countries (''excludes'' Iceland):
''(the following provides both CORRECT and '''INCORRECT''' examples for entering information for Leslie's name in forms or documents issued by authorities in the Western World) The CORRECT or '''RIGHT''' examples below: ''
The INCORRECT or '''WRONG''' examples below:
Although, there are numerous authorities in the Western World that do comprehend this name convention, official guidelines (from the Malaysian Authorities) regarding this sub-category of Chinese Name is still unavailable as of the time of writing this article. It is indeed unfortunate that problems surrounding Malaysian Chinese Names with European/Western/Christian Given Name(s) are still persisting especially when personnels in the authorities are insistent that 'SURNAME or FAMILY NAME' are strictly/ literally 'LAST NAME' or for ethnic Chinese the 'FIRST NAME'. Malaysian Chinese with European/Western/Christian Given Name(s) still run into difficulty in getting the various authorities in Western Countries to believe as to which part of their name constitute the FAMILY NAME/ SURNAME.
Using the Leslie Cheung example, Air Ticketing agents in Malaysia would normally recognise (unless advised otherwise) that CHEUNG is the SURNAME but would normally arrange the Chinese Given Names so that they precede the Western Name. Therefore an airline ticket issued in Malaysia for Leslie Cheung would have his name printed as 'CHEUNG/KWOKWINGLESLIE' (''see also EXAMPLE A'') A Malaysian Chinese who is culturally aware of the Western Naming Convention would write his name (using the Leslie Cheung example) in a western environment as Leslie K.W. Cheung. Since the phrase 'Last Name' is used in the western world to connote Family Name/ Surname, a Malaysian Chinese who is culturally aware and compliant of the Western environment will without fail supply CHEUNG as his 'Last Name'. Here the phrase 'Last Name' does not operate on the literal sense (certainly not the last part of Leslie Cheung's name) but rather from a social context perspective. However many legal documents in the Western English-Speaking World today have consistently used the term 'Surname or Family Name' to ensure political correctness. Ethnic Chinese from countries that clearly indicates their Surname/ Family Name in their legal documents would not have to face this difficulty. THE SOCIOLOGICAL USE OF SURNAMES Throughout most of Chinese history, surnames have served sociological functions. Because of their association with the aristocratic elite in their early developments, surnames were often used as symbols of nobility. Thus nobles would use their surnames to be able to trace their ancestry and compete for seniority in terms of hereditary rank. Examples of early Genealogies among the royalty can be found in Sima Qian 's '' Historical Records '', which contain tables recording the descent lines of noble houses called ''shibiao'' (世表). Later, during the Han Dynasty, these tables were used by prominent families to glorify themselves and sometimes even to legitimise their political power. For example, Cao Pi , who forced the abdication of the last Han emperor in his favour, claimed descent from the Yellow Emperor . Chinese emperors sometimes passed their own surnames to subjects as honours. Unlike European practice in which some surnames are obviously noble, Chinese emperors and members of the royal family had regular surnames except in cases where they came from non-Han ethnic groups. This was a result of Chinese imperial theory in which a commoner could receive the Mandate Of Heaven and become emperor. Upon becoming emperor, the emperor would retain his original surname. Also as a consequence, many people also had the same surname as the emperor, but had no direct relation to the royal family. The Tang Dynasty was the last period when the great aristocratic families, mostly descended from the nobility of pre-Qin states, held significant centralised and regional power. The surname was used as a source of prestige and common alliegance. During the period a large number of genealogical records called ''pudie'' (譜牒) were compiled to trace the complex descent lines of clans and their marriage ties to other clans. A large number of these were collected by Ouyang Xiu in his ''New History of Tang''. During the Song Dynasty, ordinary clans began to organise themselves into corporate units and produce genealogies. This trend was led by the poet Su Shi and his father. As competition for resources and positions in the bureaucracy intensified, individuals used their common ancestry and surname to promote solidarity. They established schools to educate their sons and held common lands to aid disadvantaged families. Ancestral temples were also erected to promote surname identity. Clan cohesion was usually encouraged by successive imperial governments since it aided in social stability. During the Qing Dynasty surname associations often undertook extra-judicial roles, providing primitive legal and social security functions. They played important roles in the Chinese diaspora to South-East Asia and elsewhere, providing the infrastructure for the establishment of trading networks. In southern China, however, clans sometimes engaged in armed conflict in competition for land. Of course, clans continued the tradition of tracing their ancestry to the distant past as a matter of prestige. Most of these origin myths, though well established, are spurious. As a result of the importance of surnames, rules and traditions regarding family and marriage grew increasingly complex. For example, in Taiwan, there is a clan with the so-called "double Liao" surname. The story is that the founder of the clan was adopted and so took the surname Liao, but in honor of his ancestors, he demanded that he be buried with the surname Chen. As a result, his descendants use the surname Liao while alive and the surname Chen after death. In some places, there are additional taboos against marriage between people of the same surname, considered to be closely related. Conversely, in some areas, there are different clans with the same surname which are not considered to be related, but even in these cases surname Exogamy is generally practiced. Surname identity and solidarity has declined markedly since the 1930s with the decline of Confucianism and later, the rise of Communism in Mainland China. During the Cultural Revolution , surname culture was actively persecuted by the government with the destruction of ancestral temples and genealogies. Moreover, the influx of Western culture and forces of Globalisation have also contributed to erode the previous sociological uses of the Chinese surname. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN XING AND SHI (姓 VS. 氏) Although they are used interchangeably now, xing and shi were not the same. One's family name is his/her xing, and everyone who has that family name belongs in the same shi. Basically, a shi is an organisation consisting of families with the same xing. SEE ALSO
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