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March 1, 2015

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Shen surname can be traced to ancient royalty

NAMING a family after a kingdom or region has been very common throughout Chinese history. The rise and fall of several Kingdoms named Shen in ancient China contributed to the influential Shen family today.

There are an estimated 4.7 million people surnamed Shen in China and it ranks as the 49th most common surname in the country. The number of Shens accounts for about 0.38 percent of the Chinese population.

There were at least three Shen kingdoms throughout history. A majority of the Shens in today’s China are believed to be descendants from the royal families of these kingdoms.

The family of Ji is said to be the biggest origin for the Shen surname.

Ji Zai, the 10th son of King Wen of the Zhou Dynasty (c.11th century­-771 BC), was rewarded for his great contribution in fighting off a rebellion. He was granted the Shen Kingdom in today’s Pingyu County of Henan Province. The kingdom was conquered by the Cai Kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), and the surviving royal offspring ran to the Chu Kingdom and gave themselves the surname Shen.

Mi, which is a rare surname in China today, is also believed to be a major source for the Shens. Mi Lu, or King Zhuang of Chu Kingdom, granted one of his sons “Zhen” the Shen State within the kingdom. No records so far have proved the exact location of the State. The descendants of Zhen later changed their surname to Shen.

The Shen Kingdom during the Shang Dynasty (c.16th century-11th century BC) lost a war to the Jin Kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period, as recorded in “Zuo Zhuan”, the first chronicle classic in China. Afterward the royal offspring used the surname Shen.

Other sources also include the family of Si and some minority groups like Chaoxian, Man, Tujia and Hui.

The Shen clan mostly originated in today’s Henan Province although they moved south during the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-220).

Shen Rong moved his entire family from Henan to today’s Wuxing County of Zhejiang Province and is believed to be the earliest settler in southern China surnamed Shen. A number of Shens today still believe Wuxing is their original hometown.

A big migration of Shens occurred during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties Period (AD 222-589).

People surnamed Shen were found in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan and Sichuan provinces by the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). Famous Shens include historian Shen Yue in the Southern Dynasty (AD 420-589) and modern writer Shen Dehong, who is better known by his pen-name Mao Dun.




 

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