The Duke of Fan refers to the titular heads of two different dukedoms in historical China, both romanized in the same way in
Hanyu Pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
.
* Duke of Fán ()
* Duke of Fàn ()
While two separate clans derived their surnames from these titles, they were also awarded to others as well.
Background
Western Zhou dynasty
The Western Zhou ( zh, c=, p=Xīzhōu; c. 1045 BC – 771 BC) was a royal dynasty of China and the first half of the Zhou dynasty. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty at the Battle of Muye and ended when the Quanrong nomad ...
Zhong Shanpu was a judge in the reign of
King Xuan of Zhou
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King Xuan of Zhou, personal name Ji Jing, was the eleventh king of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. Estimated dates of his reign are 827/25–782 BC.
He worked to restore royal authority after the Gong He interregnum. He fought the 'Western ...
(r. 827–782 BCE). Zhong was instrumental in the northern expansion of the Zhou dynasty, and was awarded with the title Duke of Fán (South west of Ji Yuan in Henan Province). His descendants assumed the surname of Fan (樊).
Du Bo
Du Bo (杜伯) was the Duke of Tangdu (唐杜公) during the reign of Zhou Xuan Wang (827 – 781 BCE). After his execution, he became known as a case of an avenging spirit.
History
Following a rumor that a woman would jeopardize the town of i ...
, was an army general, and became the Commander in Chief of the Jin kingdom (632–403 BCE). He was rewarded for defeating the neighboring tribes, and given the title the
Duke of Sui
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...
(Jiexiu in Shanxi) and the Duke of Fan (south east of Fan in Henan). In reference to his title as Duke he is also known as Sui Hui (随会), or Fan Hui (范会), and his descendants assumed one of the following last names, Fan (范), Sui (随), or Shi (士). The Fan Family is the largest and most prominent clan.
Cao Cao
Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate Grand chancellor (China), grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the End of ...
, a warlord who rose to power in the late Eastern Han dynasty was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Fan (樊侯) in 217. He died in 219 and was honored with the posthumous title "Duke An of Fan" (樊安公) in 221 by his half-brother Cao Pi became the first emperor of the
state after usurping the throne from Emperor Xian, the last emperor of the Han dynasty. Cao Jun's son and heir, Cao Kang (曹抗), was also given the title of the Duke of Fán.Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''
Records of the Three Kingdoms
The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220– ...