Home » Sunday » Now and Then
Origins in legendary emperor and 3 kingdoms
Print Edition
THREE Han kingdoms that once thrived in China provide the foundation of this Han family name, while some minority groups have also adopted the name.
There are an estimated 7.6 million people surnamed Han with this character in China, making it the 26th most common surname in the country. They account for 0.61 percent of the Chinese population, scattered around the country.
There are four major sources for the family of Han in China.
The earliest branch may be traced back to the legendary Yellow Emperor.
Changyi, a son of the emperor, was demoted to an area called Ruoshui for misconduct. He had a son named Han Liu, who later became known as “Zhuan Xu” — one of five legendary leaders of ancient Chinese tribes.
Family members of Han Liu were probably the first group of Han in China.
The second origins came from a kingdom of Han that emerged during the Xia Dynasty (c. 2070–1600 BC). Their descendents were conquered during the early Western Zhou Dynasty (c.1100 BC to 770 BC).
However, the name survived there when King Cheng of Zhou granted his brother the Shu Yu territory in Tangyi (today’s Yicheng in Shanxi Province).
This was later swallowed up by the kingdom of Jin. Many people in the conquered territory took the name Han to remember the old royal family.
The dividing up of the Jin kingdom by three families in the Spring and Autumn Periods (770-476 BC) contributed to the third and strongest Han kingdom, that became one of the “Seven Powers of the Warring States Period (476-221 BC).”
However, it didn’t survive the rise of the Qin kingdom, which annexed all the other kingdoms in China.
The Han kingdom was conquered in 230 BC and its royal family fled to Yingchuan (present-day Yuzhou in Henan Province).
In addition to the three Han kingdoms, some minority people also took the name Han, as it sounded similar to their tribal names. They include Xianbei, Mongolians, Man, Xibo and Yi ethnic groups.
The Han family flourished in Henan Province during the Wei (AD 220-265), Jin (AD 265-420) and the Southern and Northern (AD 420-589) dynasties, though frequent wars saw a large migration south.
The Han were found in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Hubei, Hunan and Sichuan provinces by the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) and overseas by the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Well-known Han include Han Fei, a famous scholar of the Warring States Period and Han Xin, a famous general who helped establish the Han Dynasty (206 BC- AD 24) — although this dynasty is not the Han family name.
- 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.
