Eight Great Surnames of Chinese Antiquity

The eight great surnames of Chinese antiquity were among the most important Chinese surnames in Chinese antiquity.[1][2] They are all Chinese ancestral surnames, and as such, have Chinese clan surnames branching off from them.[3] During the earliest Chinese antiquity, Chinese society focused on women. Family names often passed from women to their children. Because of this phenomenon, these eight surnames have a component of their hanzi representing the character woman (女).[1][4]

Eight Great Surnames of Chinese Antiquity
Chinese上古八大姓

As of 2019, very few people had one of these surnames as a family name.[2] An exception is the surnames Yao[5][2] and Jiang.[6][2] Of these, there are some well-known Chinese of modern times with these names today. One example is Yao Ming (姚明).[7]

The eight surnames

姞 is also sometimes considered one of the eight great surnames of Chinese antiquity. 姞 then replaces the surname 妊.

Traditional Chinese Pinyin Jyutping
Jiang jiāng goeng1
Ji gei1
Yao yáo jiu4
Ying yíng jing4
Si ci5
Yun yún wan4
Ren (replaced with 姞 Ji in some sources) rèn jam4
Gui guī gwai1
Ji (in some sources, replaces 妊 Ren) gat1

See also

References

  1. "上古八大姓,皆从"女子"出". 2013-04-17. Archived from the original on 2013-04-17. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
  2. "中国上古八大姓,两个至今常见,三个人口不足百万,三个即将消失_姓氏". www.sohu.com. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
  3. "博客來-秦始皇︰一場歷史的思辨之旅". 2020-02-12. Archived from the original on 2020-02-12. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  4. "博客來-秦始皇︰一場歷史的思辨之旅". 2020-02-12. Archived from the original on 2020-02-12. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
  5. "公安部统计分析显示:王姓成为我国第一大姓". 2007-04-29. Archived from the original on 2007-04-29. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
  6. "习近平向第二届中非和平安全论坛致贺信". news.xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on 2007-04-29.
  7. 网易 (2011-11-07). "姚明正式就读上海交通大学经济类本科(组图)". www.163.com. Retrieved 2022-07-25. 姚明
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