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Miao a name with roots in the north
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THE surname Miao ranks the 146th by population in China, totaling around 890,000 people. It amounts for 0.071 percent of the total Chinese population.
There are three major branches of origins for the name. A major one was derived from surname Mi (芈), which was recorded in a few ancient books. In the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), Bihuang ran away to the Jin State as his father Bofen, who was the grandson of Chu Emperor Chu Ruo’ao, committed a crime and was killed. The Jin State then offered him a land in the area of Miao (nowadays the west to Jiyuan in Henan Province). Thus, Bihuang’s descendants were surnamed Miao.
Another branch originated from a famous doctor named Miao Fu, or Father Miao, before Xia Dynasty (c.21st century-16th century BC). But the character fu here only meant senior. His descendants then received Miao as a surname.
Thirdly, many dynasties also had ethnic minority groups sharing the surname, for example, Baiji minority who mainly resided in the Korean Peninsula during Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). The surname Alapu in minorities of Lagu and Kucong was changed to Miao without identified reasons. Besides, the surname was shared among the minorities of Man, Yi, She, Mongolia, Uyghur, Dongxiang and Hui.
It is said that many people surnamed Miao moved north to Changzhi, Shanxi Province or east to Dingtao, Shandong Province when Jiyuan was in war during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). The two groups were then known as the Shangdang Miaos and the Jiyin Miaos, respectively.
Many people surnamed Miao were shown in historic records in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), for example, Miao Guang, marquis of Dong’e, Shandong Province in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-220). Since Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279), the Miaos moved south gradually, which resulted in the Miaos living across the nation, including Taiwan from middle Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
Today, Shandong Province has the most people surnamed Miao, followed by Gansu and Henan provinces. The population of the Miaos in the three provinces accounts for 52 percent of the total in China.
It’s worth mentioning that although Miao sounds like a surname in the south due to Miao minority group, its origin was in north China, where most Miaos live nowadays too.
In history, there were many celebrities surnamed Miao, which included Miao Xun, a government official in early Song Dynasty. He successfully forecast Zhao Kuangyin (AD 927-976), the founding emperor of Song Dynasty, seized power through Chenqiao Military Mutiny in 960.
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