Home » Sunday » Now and Then
Family of Wu has impressive lineage
Print Edition
WU is a big family name in China with an impressive population. Though with limited sources in ancient times, the family of Wu expanded quickly not only within the nation, but also to nearby countries, and even became part of some royal families.
It is estimated that there are about 24 million people surnamed Wu in China — nearly 2 percent of the population — making it the 10th most common surname.
As legend suggests, the origin of Wu dates back to ancient times. As “Shan Hai Jing” (the Classic of Mountains and Rivers) recorded, there was a man named Wu Quan in the Yan Emperor’s reign. His wife had an affair with the grandson of Emperor Yan and gave birth to triplets after a three-year pregnancy. Two of the triplets, Gu and Yan, were the inventors of Chinese musical instruments zhong and qing.
Other legendary figures surnamed Wu include the Yellow Emperor’s mother and a master archer named Wu He.
But the major source of Wu comes from the family of “Ji” more than 3,000 years ago. In the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC) Danfu, a tribe leader relocated and renamed his tribe as Zhou. He thought highly of his third son Ji Li though he had to pass the throne to the eldest. To save their father from the dilemma, Danfu’s older sons, Taibo and Zhongyong, volunteered to leave the tribe and moved to today’s Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces and established new tribes there.
Ji Fa, the grandson of Ji Li, terminated Shang Dynasty and established Zhou Dynasty (1046—256 BC). He granted one descendant of Taibo and Zhongyong the kingdom of Wu in today’s Wuxi in Jiangsu Province, while granting another descendant the kingdom of Yu in today’s Pinglu of Shanxi Province. The two families both surnamed themselves after their kingdoms.
Therefore, there were traditions about no marriage between the Wu and Yu in ancient times to avoid intermarriages.
The Wu people reached and settled in Taiwan in the Three Kingdoms Period (AD 220-280) and became one of the biggest surnames there. The traces of the Wu family are also found in nearby countries like Japan and Vietnam.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
