Facade of the Wanggang Li ancestral hall in Baiyun, Guangzhou — a protected heritage building among the Li clan's standing ancestral monuments

The Li (黎) Surname: From the Ancient State of Li to the Wuyi Diaspora

The Li (黎) Surname: From the Ancient State of Li to the Wuyi Diaspora The Siyi region of Guangdong sent over two million people overseas between 1840 and 1940 — and among the surnames carried in that great crossing was 黎 (Li), a name whose written form had already endured for over two thousand years,…

August 6, 20260Comments

BySteven

Village houses and fields of a Taishan qiaoxiang village, representative of the Wuyi emigrant countryside

Chinese Surnames Surname Archive

The Tan (谭) Surname: From an Ancient State of Shandong to the Wuyi Diaspora

The Tan (谭) Surname: From an Ancient State of Shandong to the Wuyi Diaspora In the winter of 684 BCE, an army of the State of Qi marched against its small neighbor and erased it from the map. The State of Tan (谭国, Tán Guó) — a minor polity in today's Zhangqiu, Shandong, whose old…

August 3, 20260Comments

BySteven

Yunhuan Lou and Qiuanjulu Mansion in Zili Diaolou Village, Tangkou Township, Kaiping — the destination at the end of the last-mile road.

Chinese Surnames Surname Archive

The Cai (蔡) Surname: From Zhou Dynasty State to the Wuyi Diaspora

nIn 1046 BCE, King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty and began distributing territory to his brothers and allies. His fifth brother, Ji Du (姬), received a fief in what is now Shangcai County (上县), Henan Province. The state was called Cai (蔡). For the next 600 years, through 25 rulers, the State of…

July 31, 20260Comments

BySteven

Yunhuan Lou and Qiuanjulu Mansion in Zili Diaolou Village, Tangkou Township, Kaiping — watchtower houses built with overseas remittances

Chinese Surnames Surname Archive

The Luo (罗) Surname: From Fire God Origins to the Wuyi Diaspora

The Thread of a Name Of the hundred family surnames that structure Chinese identity, few trace their lineage to a fire god. The Luo (罗) clan does. The Chinese surname system is among the world’s oldest continuous genealogical traditions, with many surnames reaching back 2,500 years or more to the Zhou dynasty. But the Luo…

July 27, 20260Comments

BySteven

Chinese Surnames Surname Archive

The Feng (冯) Surname: From Northern Yan Dynasty to the Wuyi Diaspora

Three thousand years ago, a Zhou Dynasty prince received a fiefdom in the northern plains of what is now Hebei Province. The territory was called Fengcheng (冯城) — Feng City — and when Bi Gong Gao (毕公高), the fifteenth son of King Wen of Zhou (周文王), took up residence there, his descendants adopted the place…

July 24, 20260Comments

BySteven

Chinese Surnames Surname Archive

The Wang Surname: 3,100 Years from Zhou Dynasty Royalty to the Wuyi Diaspora

The Name That Means "King" The Wang surname — 王 (Wáng), simply the Chinese character for "king" — is the second most common surname in the world. One hundred and one million people in China carry it, and an estimated six to eight million more overseas trace their ancestry through it. It is not an…

July 21, 20260Comments

BySteven

Ancestral hall interior in a Taishan village, where generations of the Lei clan have honored their ancestors since Fu Gong's arrival in 1273

Chinese Surnames Surname Archive

The He（何） Surname: 3,000 Years from Ancient Han State to the Wuyi Diaspora

In 230 BCE, the armies of Qin entered the capital of the state of Han (韩国). Han, smallest and most vulnerable of the seven Warring States, was the first to fall in the Qin unification campaign. Most royal houses that resisted Qin were exterminated. But members of the Han royal family escaped. Fleeing south from…

July 17, 20260Comments

BySteven

Chinese Surnames Surname Archive

The Ma （马） Surname: From Fubo General to the Wuyi Diaspora

The Ma surname (马, "horse") is one of the rare Chinese surnames derived not from a place or a clan but from an official military title — and the martial character encoded in that single character has shaped one of China's most resilient lineages for over two thousand years. During the Warring States period (475–221…

July 17, 20260Comments

BySteven

Kaiping diaolou in Zili Village, fortified watchtowers built with overseas remittance money, combining Chinese and European architectural styles

Genealogy Roots Trip

From Surname to Ancestral Village: A Roots Trip Blueprint for Wuyi Descendants

For over 150 years, the Wuyi region (五邑, Wǔyì) of southern Guangdong — the five counties of Taishan, Kaiping, Xinhui, Enping, and Heshan — has sent more overseas Chinese across the Pacific than any other place on earth. Today their descendants number in the millions, scattered across North America, Southeast Asia, Australia, and Latin America.…

June 19, 20260Comments

BySteven

Chinese Surnames Surname Archive

Liu (刘) Surname: From Han Dynasty to Wuyi Diaspora

Liu (刘) Surname: From Han Dynasty to Wuyi Diaspora The Emperor's Lineage The Liu surname — 刘 (Liú) — is carried by more than 80 million people worldwide, making it the fourth most common Chinese surname. But numbers alone do not capture what the Liu name represents. This is the surname of emperors: Liu Bang,…

June 16, 20260Comments

BySteven

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Tag: clan genealogy

Yamen 1279: The Battle That E...

Haiyan Overseas Chinese Farm:...

What Is Qiaopi? A Beginner&#8...

The Meijia Courtyard of Duanf...

The Women Who Left: Chinese F...

The Li (黎) Surname: From the Ancient State of Li to the Wuyi Diaspora

The Tan (谭) Surname: From an Ancient State of Shandong to the Wuyi Diaspora

The Cai (蔡) Surname: From Zhou Dynasty State to the Wuyi Diaspora

The Luo (罗) Surname: From Fire God Origins to the Wuyi Diaspora

The Feng (冯) Surname: From Northern Yan Dynasty to the Wuyi Diaspora

The Wang Surname: 3,100 Years from Zhou Dynasty Royalty to the Wuyi Diaspora

The He（何） Surname: 3,000 Years from Ancient Han State to the Wuyi Diaspora

The Ma （马） Surname: From Fubo General to the Wuyi Diaspora

From Surname to Ancestral Village: A Roots Trip Blueprint for Wuyi Descendants

Liu (刘) Surname: From Han Dynasty to Wuyi Diaspora

Yamen 1279: The Battle That E...

Haiyan Overseas Chinese Farm:...

What Is Qiaopi? A Beginner&#8...

The Meijia Courtyard of Duanf...

The Women Who Left: Chinese F...

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