Jì is the

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

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 fo ...

romanization of the

Chinese surname Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, and among overseas Chinese communities around the world such as Singapore and Malaysia. Written Chinese names begin with surnames, unlike the ...

written in

Chinese character Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...

. It is romanized as Chi in

Wade–Giles Wade–Giles () is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Francis Wade, during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert A. Giles's '' Chinese–English Dictionary'' ...

, and Gwai in

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...

. Ji is the 142nd most common surname in China, with a population of 960,000. It is listed the 134th in the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

classic text ''

Hundred Family Surnames The ''Hundred Family Surnames'' (), commonly known as ''Bai Jia Xing'', also translated as ''Hundreds of Chinese Surnames'', is a classic Chinese text composed of common Chinese surnames. An unknown author compiled the book during the Song dyn ...

''.

Etymology

In ancient usage, the characters of ''

meng Meng may refer to: * Meng (surname) (孟), a Chinese surname * Master of Engineering (MEng or M.Eng.), an academic or professional master's degree in the field of engineering * , "M with hook", letter used in the International Phonetic Alphabet * ...

'' (孟), '' zhong'' (仲), '' shu'' (叔) and ''ji'' (季) were used to denote the first, second, third and fourth eldest sons in a family. The Chinese character Ji 季 is composed of two parts: 禾 (grain) and 子 (son), and originally means "young grain". Later it acquired the meaning of "the youngest", and was frequently used in the name or title of the youngest son (or daughter) of a family. It is from this usage that the character became a surname. According to analysis based on the early 11th-century dictionary ''

Guangyun The ''Guangyun'' (''Kuang-yun''; ) is a Chinese rime dictionary that was compiled from 1007 to 1008 under the patronage of Emperor Zhenzong of Song. Its full name was ''Dà Sòng chóngxiū guǎngyùn'' (, literally "Great Song revised and expan ...

'', in

Middle Chinese Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese recorded in the ''Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expanded editions. The Sw ...

the character was pronounced wi

Demographics

As of 2008, Ji 季 is the 142nd most common surname in China, shared by 960,000 people, or 0.077% of the Chinese population. It is concentrated in

East China East China () is a geographical and a loosely defined cultural region that covers the eastern coastal area of China. A concept abolished in 1978, for economical purposes the region was defined from 1949 to 1961 by the Chinese Central Governme ...

, including

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its c ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiangs ...

, and

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

. Jiangsu province alone accounts for 44% of the people surnamed Ji 季, followed by Zhejiang with 10%.

Origins

The main origin of the Ji 季 surname is the

state of Lu Lu (, c. 1042–249 BC) was a vassal state during the Zhou dynasty of ancient China located around modern Shandong province. Founded in the 11th century BC, its rulers were from a cadet branch of the House of Ji (姬) that ruled the Zhou dy ...

during the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fro ...

of ancient China. Prince You was commonly called Ji You (季友) as he was the youngest son of

Duke Huan of Lu Duke Huan of Lu (, died 694 BC) was from 711 to 694 BC the 15th ruler of the State of Lu during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. His ancestral name was Ji ( 姬), given name Yun (允) or Gui (軌), and Duke Huan was his posthumous t ...

. After the death of his older brother Duke Zhuang of Lu, Ji You helped Duke Zhuang's son to ascend the throne as

Duke Xi of Lu Duke Xi of Lu () was the ruler of Lu from 659 BC to 627 BC in Spring and Autumn period. His name is Ji Shen (姬申). Xi, literally means "happy", is his posthumous name. The posthumous name "Xi" means that he was mediocre and behaved cautiously. ...

, and he became Duke Xi's chief minister. He was the founding patriarch of the Jisun clan, the most powerful of the

Three Huan The Three Huan ({{zh, c=三桓, p=Sān Huán) refers to three aristocratic clans, all descendants of Duke Huan of Lu, in the State of Lu, which dominated the government affairs, displacing the power of the dukes, for nearly three centuries during ...

clans that dominated the politics of Lu for centuries to come. His descendants adopted Jisun, which was later shortened to Ji, as their surname. This source of Ji 季 is a branch of Ji 姬, the ancestral surname of the dukes of Lu. A second origin of the Ji surname was

Jilian Jilian () was the first recorded ruler of the ancient Chinese state that was later known as Chu. He adopted the clan name Mi () and was the founder of the House of Mi that ruled Chu for over eight centuries. Ancestry According to legends recor ...

(季連), the first recorded ruler of the

state of Chu Chu, or Ch'u in Wade–Giles romanization, (, Hanyu Pinyin: Chǔ, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was a Zhou dynasty vassal state. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BCE. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou he ...

. This origin of Ji is a branch of Mi 芈, the royal surname of Chu. Several other states of the Zhou dynasty, such as Qi and Wei, also had noble lineages that adopted Ji 季 as their surname.

Later adoption

During the

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

and

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

dynasties, several

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...

and

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

clans adopted the Ji surname, and many Ji-surnamed people in

Northeast China Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of ...

are from this origin.

Notable people

* Ji You or Ji Chengzi ( 季成子; died 644 BC), Chief Minister of the

* Jisun Xingfu or Ji Wenzi ( 季文子; died 568 BC), grandson of Ji You, Chief Minister of Lu *

Ji Bu Ji Bu ( 200s BC) was a Chinese military general of the early Western Han dynasty. He was from Xiaxiang (下相; present-day Sucheng District, Suqian, Jiangsu). He previously served under Xiang Yu, a warlord who engaged Liu Bang (Emperor Gao), t ...

(季布; 3rd century BC), a top general of

Xiang Yu Xiang Yu (, –202 BC), born Xiang Ji (), was the Hegemon-King (Chinese: 霸王, ''Bà Wáng'') of Western Chu during the Chu–Han Contention period (206–202 BC) of China. A noble of the Chu state, Xiang Yu rebelled against the Qin dynas ...

and later the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a war ...

* Ji Zhenyi ( 季振宜; 1630–?),

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

official, writer, and collector * Ji Zhichang ( 季芝昌; 1791–1860), Qing dynasty minister, general, and Governor of

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level ...

province * Ji Yunqing ( 季云卿; 1868–1939), Shanghai gangster assassinated for collaborating with the Japanese during WWII *

Ji Xianlin Ji Xianlin (; August 6, 1911 – July 11, 2009) was a Chinese Indologist, linguist, paleographer, historian and writer who has been honored by the governments of both India and China. Ji was proficient in many languages including Chinese, Sanskr ...

(季羨林; 1911–2009), prominent linguist,

Indologist Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is of ...

palaeographer Palaeography ( UK) or paleography ( US; ultimately from grc-gre, , ''palaiós'', "old", and , ''gráphein'', "to write") is the study of historic writing systems and the deciphering and dating of historical manuscripts, including the analysi ...

, and historian *

Ji Yunshi Ji Yunshi (, born September 1945) is a Chinese politician. He served in a variety of offices, including Governor of Jiangsu (1998–2002), Governor of Hebei (2002—2006), Vice-Minister for Human Resources and Social Security (2006–2011 ...

(季允石; born 1945), former Governor of

and

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and ...

provinces *

Ji Jianye Ji Jianye (; born January 1957) is a former Chinese politician. He was mayor of Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province, from 2010 to 2013. Prior to that Ji held office as mayor, then party secretary of the city of Yangzhou between 2003 and 2010. I ...

(季建业; born 1957), former Mayor of

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

* Yun-Fei Ji or Ji Yunfei (季云飞; born 1963), painter * Ji Mingyi (季铭义; born 1980), football player * Timothy Kwai or Ji Tinggang ( 季霆剛; born 1983), Hong Kong politician *

Ji Xiaobing Ji Xiaobing (; born 2 November 1987) is a Chinese actor. Career In 2010, Ji made his acting debut in the period family drama ''Family Reunion''. In 2011, Ji starred in the military drama ''The No. 1 Landmark''. In 2013, Ji gained recognition ...

(季肖冰; born 1987), actor * Ji Liping (季丽萍; born 1988), Olympic swimmer * Ji Xiaoxuan (季骁宣; born 1993), football player * Ji Jiafu (季加孚; born 1959), surgical oncologist

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ji Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames