Tag: clan genealogy

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…

11 hours ago0Comments

BySteven

Interior of a traditional Chinese ancestral hall with plaques and spirit tablets, representing the Nanyang Hall marker that connects every Deng clan branch to its ancient Henan homeland

Chinese Surnames Clan Genealogy diaspora

The He 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…

4 days ago0Comments

BySteven

Chinese Surnames Surname Archive

The Ma 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…

4 days ago0Comments

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 Migration History Surnames Wuyi Diaspora

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

A Kaiping diaolou watchtower rising above village rooftops, a UNESCO World Heritage structure built with overseas remittance money bearing surname signatures

Chinese Genealogy Roots Travel Surname History Wuyi Diaspora

Your Surname is Your Compass: How to Trace Your Wuyi Roots Starting With Just a Family Name

The Surname You Already Hold Your surname is not merely a name inherited from your ancestors. It is a compass — a pointer to a specific village, a specific migration history, a specific set of documentary holdings, and a specific overseas settlement pattern. If you know your surname, and perhaps just one fragment — "Taishan"…

June 11, 20260Comments

BySteven

Chinese Diaspora Chinese Surnames Clan Genealogy Surname History Wuyi Diaspora

Lee Surname Wuyi Diaspora: A Thousand Years from Longxi to Gold Mountain

{{FIG:fig_01}} One hundred million people alive today carry the surname 李 (Lǐ). If they were a nation, they would be the fourteenth largest on Earth — more populous than Egypt, Vietnam, or Germany. The character appears on mailboxes from San Francisco to Singapore, on tombstones in the goldfields of Ballarat, on business cards in Vancouver,…

June 3, 20260Comments

BySteven

The Wang Surname: 3,100 Years...

The Xu Surname: 3,100 Years f...

The He Surname: 3,000 Years f...

The Ma Surname: From Fubo Gen...

The Yang Surname: 3,000 Years...

Tag: clan genealogy

The Wang Surname: 3,100 Years...

The Xu Surname: 3,100 Years f...

The He Surname: 3,000 Years f...

The Ma Surname: From Fubo Gen...

The Yang Surname: 3,000 Years...

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

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

The Ma 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

Your Surname is Your Compass: How to Trace Your Wuyi Roots Starting With Just a Family Name

Lee Surname Wuyi Diaspora: A Thousand Years from Longxi to Gold Mountain

The Wang Surname: 3,100 Years...

The Xu Surname: 3,100 Years f...

The He Surname: 3,000 Years f...

The Ma Surname: From Fubo Gen...

The Yang Surname: 3,000 Years...