Eight Great Surnames of Chinese Antiquity

Eight Great Surnames of Chinese Antiquity
Chinese上古八大姓
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinShànggǔ Bā Dàxìng

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[citation needed], 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]

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
姜 Jiang jiāng goeng1
姬 Ji jī gei1
姚 Yao yáo jiu4
嬴 Ying yíng jing4
姒 Si sì ci5
妘 Yun yún wan4
妊 Ren [zh] (replaced with 姞 Ji in some sources) rèn jam4
媯 Gui guī gwai1
姞 Ji (in some sources, replaces 妊 Ren [zh]) jí gat1

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "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. ^ a b c d "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