Home » Sunday » Now and Then
Hua family name has diverse roots
Print Edition
HUA is a relatively Chinese rare surname, one whose origins extend even abroad.
Today, there are an estimated 670,000 people surnamed Hua in China, making it the 180th most common name.
There are generally four sources of the Huas in China, with different origins formed before the Warring States Period (475-221BC).
Zhong Kang, the fourth emperor of the Xia Dynasty (21st-16th century BC), lived for a time on Huashan Mountain, where he fathered several children. These offspring took the “hua” in the mountain’s name as their own surname.
A royal descendant of the Song Kingdom surnamed Zi in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) was granted the Hua State. He changed his family name to Hua, and thus created a prominent branch of the Hua at that time.
Prince Hua of Qin Kingdom, surnamed Ying, became the ancestor of the Hua family in Xianyang, Shaanxi Province. Another Prince Hua of Zheng Kingdom surnamed Ji created the Hua Family of Xinzheng, Henan Province.
People from minority groups also took Hua as their surname in Han culture.
There is even a Hua family of Persian origin ins China. Together with his father, Mumba Lasha settled in Zhejiang Province in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and studied Chinese under the scholar Zhou Renrong. Following his success in the imperial examination, Lasha was granted an official position together with a Mongolian surname written as Da (or Tai) Bu Hua in Chinese. His offspring found the complicated name inconvenient and decided to surname themselves separately as Da, Tai, Bu and Hua. Today, most Hui minority people surnamed Da, Tai or Hua in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are offspring of Lasha.
The family of Hua originated in Henan and Shaanxi provinces, and gradually expanded to regions in the north by the Jin Dynasty (265-420). Yet most of the prominent Hua families eventually moved southwards, and were mostly living in Jiangsu Province by the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
The most famous Hua is probably Hua Tuo, the legendary doctor from the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280). Hua combined Chinese herbal medicine with western surgical treatment and is believed to be a pioneer in general anesthesia.
- 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.
