Li or Lee (; ) is a common
Chinese-language surname, it is the 4th name listed in the famous ''
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 ...
.'' Li is one of the most common surnames in Asia, shared by 92.76 million people in China,
and more than 100 million in Asia.
It is the
second most common surname in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
as of 2018,
the second most common surname in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
, and the 5th most common surname in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, where it is usually romanized as "Lee". The surname is pronounced as () 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 are ...
, ''Lí'' (
poj) in
Taiwanese Hokkien
Taiwanese Hokkien () (; Tâi-lô: ''Tâi-uân-uē''), also known as Taigi/Taigu (; Pe̍h-ōe-jī/Tâi-lô: ''Tâi-gí / Tâi-gú''), Taiwanese, Taiwanese Minnan, Hoklo and Holo, is a variety of the Hokkien language spoken natively by about 70% ...
, but is often spelled as "Lee" in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
,
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
and many
overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese.
Terminology
() or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, refe ...
communities. In Macau, it is also spelled as "Lei". In
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
it is commonly spelled as "Lie". The common
Korean surname
A Korean name (Hangul: ; Hanja: ) consists of a family name followed by a given name, as used by the Korean people in both South Korea and North Korea. In the Korean language, ''ireum'' or ''seongmyeong'' usually refers to the family name (''seon ...
, "
Lee" (also romanized as "I", "Yi", "Ri", or "Rhee"), and the
Vietnamese surname
Traditional Vietnamese personal names generally consist of three parts, used in Eastern name order.
* A family name (normally patrilineal, The father’s family name may be combined with the mother's family name to form a compound family name).
...
, "
Lý", are both derived from Li and written with the same Chinese character (李).
The character also means "plum" or "plum tree".
Demographics and distribution
Li, Lee 李 is one of the most common surnames in Asia, shared by more than 93 million people in China,
or about 7.4% of the Chinese population.
In Asia, more than 100 million people bear the surname.
It was formerly thought to be the most common surname in China, but a 2013 analysis of the names of 1.33 billion Chinese citizens has concluded that Li is the second most common surname, behind Wang with 95 million people.
In 2019 it was again the second most common surname in Mainland China. Li 李 is the most common surname for the
Hakka people
The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhe ...
.
Geographically, Li is one of the most common surnames in
North China
North China, or Huabei () is a List of regions of China, geographical region of China, consisting of the provinces of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. Part of the larger region of Northern China (''Beifang''), it lies north ...
and
Southwest China
Southwest China () is a region in the south of the People's Republic of China.
Geography
Southwest China is a rugged and mountainous region, transitioning between the Tibetan Plateau to the west and the Chinese coastal hills (东南丘陵) and ...
. In 2019 Li was the most common surname in
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
,
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
,
Chongqing
Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...
,
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
and
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...
. In provinces such as
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
,
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, an ...
,
Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
,
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-lev ...
,
Jilin
Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...
,
Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...
, and
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
, more than 8.8% of the local population are surnamed Li. Among all Chinese provinces, Henan has the largest number of Li, accounting for 10.3% of the total.
Li is less common in southern and southeastern China. Comparatively speaking, in
Jiangxi
Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...
,
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 Jiang ...
,
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
,
Hainan
Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
, as well as
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, only 2.2 to 6.6% of the population share the surname.
Origins
According to tradition, the Li surname originated from the title ''Dali'' held by
Gao Yao, a legendary minister of the
Xia dynasty
The Xia dynasty () is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, the Xia dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great, after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors, gave the throne to him. In tradi ...
, and was originally written with the different character (理). There is a claim that
Laozi
Laozi (), also known by numerous other names, was a semilegendary ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher. Laozi ( zh, ) is a Chinese honorific, generally translated as "the Old Master". Traditional accounts say he was born as in the state
...
, the founder of
Daoism
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...
, was Li Er. Li Er is the first historical person known to have the surname Li and is regarded as the founding ancestor of the surname.
Gao Yao
According to the ninth-century Tang dynasty text ''
Yuanhe Xing Zuan
The ''Yuanhe Xingzuan'' () is an imperial Tang dynasty register of the genealogies of China's prominent families. It was compiled by Lin Bao (林寶), on the order of Emperor Xianzong (reigned 805–820), whose era name was Yuanhe. The book was c ...
'', Li is a branch of the ancient ancestral name
Ying (嬴) and descends from Emperor
Zhuanxu
Zhuanxu (Chinese: trad. , simp. , pinyin ''Zhuānxū''), also known as Gaoyang ( t , s , p ''Gāoyáng''), was a mythological emperor of ancient China.
In the traditional account recorded by Sima Qian, Zhu ...
, grandson of the mythical
Yellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Soverei ...
. During the reign of
Emperor Yao
Emperor Yao (; traditionally c. 2356 – 2255 BCE) was a legendary Chinese ruler, according to various sources, one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.
Ancestry and early life
Yao's ancestral name is Yi Qi () or Qi (), clan name i ...
,
Gao Yao served as ''Dali'' (大理), or Minister of Law.
Gao Yao's father was Shaohao (少昊). During the
Xia dynasty
The Xia dynasty () is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, the Xia dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great, after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors, gave the throne to him. In tradi ...
, Gao Yao's descendants adopted
Li (理) as their surname, from the title ''Dali'' (meaning "great judge").
It is uncertain how the character for Li changed from the original 理 to the current 李. According to popular folklore, at the end of the
Shang dynasty
The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...
, the minister Li Zheng (理征) was executed by
King Zhou of Shang
King Zhou (; ) was the pejorative posthumous name given to Di Xin of Shang () or King Shou of Shang (), the last king of the Shang dynasty of ancient China. He is also called Zhou Xin (). In Chinese, his name Zhòu (wikt:紂, 紂) also refers to a ...
who was known for his cruelty. Li Zheng's son Li Lizhen (理利貞) escaped with his mother to the ruins of Yihou (伊侯之墟), where they survived by eating plums. In gratitude, Li Lizhen changed his surname to 李, a character that means "plum" and is a
homophone
A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. A ''homophone'' may also differ in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (p ...
of 理. Li Lizhen was said to have settled at Ku County (苦縣), in modern
Luyi County
Luyi County () is a county of eastern Henan, People's Republic of China, bordering Anhui province to the east. It is under the administration of Zhoukou City.
The county is known for its make-up brushes production, with over 150 million brushe ...
,
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
province, which is regarded as the original hometown of the Li surname.
Laozi
The first historical person known to have the surname is Li Er (李耳), better known as
Laozi
Laozi (), also known by numerous other names, was a semilegendary ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher. Laozi ( zh, ) is a Chinese honorific, generally translated as "the Old Master". Traditional accounts say he was born as in the state
...
(fl. 6th century BC), the philosopher who founded
Taoism
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of Philosophy, philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of China, Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmo ...
. He was said to have been an eleventh-generation descendant of Li Lizhen. Laozi is widely revered as the founding ancestor of the Li surname.
Ba people
Another early origin of Li is the non-
Huaxia
''Huaxia'' (華夏, ) is a historical concept representing the Chinese nation, and came from the self-awareness of a common cultural ancestry by the various confederations of pre-Qin ethnic ancestors of Han people.
Etymology
The earliest ext ...
Ba people, who established the
Ba state
Ba () was an Ancient Chinese states, ancient state in eastern Sichuan, China. Its original capital was Yicheng (Enshi City), Hubei. Ba was conquered by Qin (state), Qin in 316 BC. The historical Bo people (China), Bo people and the modern Tujia pe ...
during the
Zhou dynasty
The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by th ...
in modern western
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
province and
Chongqing
Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...
municipality. In 316 BC, Ba was conquered by the
state of Qin
Qin () was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Traditionally dated to 897 BC, it took its origin in a reconquest of western lands previously lost to the Rong; its position at the western edge of Chinese civilization permitted ex ...
, which would eventually conquer all the
warring states
The Warring States period () was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin wars of conquest ...
to establish the
Qin dynasty
The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin (state), ...
. Many Ba people adopted Li as their surname, as it sounded similar to the Ba word for
tiger
The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...
, which was a
totem
A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system.
While ''the wo ...
for the Ba.
In 304 AD, the Ba leader
Li Xiong
Li Xiong (李雄) (274–334), courtesy name Zhongjuan (仲雋), formally Emperor Wu of Cheng (Han) (成(漢)武帝), was the first emperor of the Di-led Chinese Cheng Han dynasty and commonly regarded as its founder (although some historians ...
(Emperor Wu) established
Cheng Han
Cheng Han (; 303 or 304 – 347) was a Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic state of China listed as one of the Sixteen Kingdoms in Chinese historiography. Ruled by the Di (Five Barbarians), Di people, its territory was based in what is modern- ...
, the first Li-surnamed dynasty in history.
Tang dynasty
![TangGaozu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/TangGaozu.jpg)
As the surname of the emperors of the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
, Li was bestowed upon or adopted by numerous people. During the period, it became one of the most common
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 ...
s.
Li was the imperial surname of the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
, founded by
Li Yuan
Emperor Gaozu of Tang (7 April 566 – 25 June 635, born Li Yuan, courtesy name Shude) was the founding emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, reigning from 618 to 626. Under the Sui dynasty, Li Yuan was the governor in the area of modern-da ...
in 618 AD. One of the most prosperous and influential dynasties in Chinese history, Tang was ruled by 20 emperors surnamed Li.
The Tang dynasty imperial family belonged to the northwest military aristocracy prevalent during the
Sui dynasty
The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...
and claimed to be
paternally descended from
Laozi
Laozi (), also known by numerous other names, was a semilegendary ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher. Laozi ( zh, ) is a Chinese honorific, generally translated as "the Old Master". Traditional accounts say he was born as in the state
...
,
the
Qin Qin may refer to:
Dynasties and states
* Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China
* Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC
* Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...
general
Li Xin, 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 warr ...
general
Li Guang
Li Guang (184-119 BC) was a Chinese military general of the Western Han dynasty. Nicknamed "Flying General" by the Xiongnu, he fought primarily in the campaigns against the nomadic Xiongnu tribes to the north of China. He was known to the Xiong ...
, and
Western Liang ruler
Li Gao
Li Gao or Li Hao (; 351–417), courtesy name Xuansheng (), nickname Changsheng (), formally Prince Wuzhao of (Western) Liang (), was the founding duke of the Han Chinese state Western Liang. (While he claimed only the title of duke during his ...
.
The Tang emperors liberally granted the royal surname to favoured generals, officials, and their clans, such as
Xu Shiji
Li Shiji (594?The ''Old Book of Tang'' indicated that Li Shiji was 75 at the time of his death, while the ''New Book of Tang'' indicated that Li Shiji was 85 at the time of his death. Compare ''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 67 with ''New Book of Tang ...
,
Du Fuwei Du Fuwei (598?-624), known during service to Tang Dynasty as Li Fuwei (), was an agrarian leader who rose against the rule of Emperor Yang of Sui at the end of the Chinese dynasty Sui Dynasty. At one point, he had ambitions to take over the region ...
, and
Guo Zihe
Li Zihe(;?–664)The anti-king of the Sui dynasty. His original family name was Guo(郭), but he was later given the family name of the Tang imperial clan, Li(李), by Emperor Gaozu, the Tang dynasty's founding emperor. Ancestral home to the ...
(郭子和). Many non-Han people under Tang's rule were also granted the Li surname, including the
Eastern Tujue
The Eastern Turkic Khaganate () was a Turkic khaganate formed as a result of the internecine wars in the beginning of the 7th century (AD 581–603) after the First Turkic Khaganate (founded in the 6th century in the Mongolian Plateau by t ...
khan
Ashina Simo
Qilibi Khan ( Chinese: 俟力苾可汗, (Pinyin): qílìbì kěhàn, ( Wade-Giles): ch'i-li-pi k'o-han, Middle Chinese: ( Guangyun) , died 647), personal name Ashina Simo (阿史那思摩), Chinese name Li Simo (李思摩), full regal title Yiminis ...
(Li Simo),
Mohe leaders
Li Duozuo
Li, li, or LI may refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Landscape Institute, a British professional body for landscape architects
* Leadership Institute, a non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia, US, that teaches "political tec ...
and
Li Jinxing
Li, li, or LI may refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Landscape Institute, a British professional body for landscape architects
* Leadership Institute, a non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia, US, that teaches "political tec ...
(李謹行),
Khitan leaders
Li Guangbi
Li Guangbi (李光弼) (708 – August 15, 764), formally Prince Wumu of Linhuai (臨淮武穆王), was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician during the Tang dynasty. He was of ethnic Khitan ancestry, who was instrumental in Tang's s ...
and
Li Jinzhong
Li, li, or LI may refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Landscape Institute, a British professional body for landscape architects
* Leadership Institute, a non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia, US, that teaches "political tec ...
, and
Goguryo general
Li Zhengji
Li Zhengji, or Yi Jeong-gi was a general of Tang China, originally of Goguryeo descent.
Background
Li Zhengji was born Li Huaiyu in 733, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. He was born in Tang's Pinglu Circuit (平盧, then headquarte ...
. Some
Tibetans
The Tibetan people (; ) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 6.7 million. In addition to the majority living in Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans live ...
,
Uyghurs
The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghur ...
,
Persians
The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian.
...
, and
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
were also granted the Li surname. The number of people surnamed Li skyrocketed during the Tang dynasty.
Other dynasties ruled by Li families
During the
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...
following the fall of Tang in 907, the
Shatuo
The Shatuo, or the Shatuo Turks (; also transcribed as Sha-t'o, Sanskrit SartZuev Yu.A., ''"Horse Tamgas from Vassal Princedoms (Translation of Chinese composition "Tanghuyao" of 8-10th centuries)"'', Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences, Alma-Ata, I ...
general
Li Keyong
Li Keyong () (October 24, 856 – February 24, 908) was a Chinese military general and politician of Shatuo ethnicity, and from January 896 a Prince of Jin (, ''Jin Wang''), which would become an independent state after the fall of the Tang dyn ...
, who had been granted the Li surname, established the
Jin State, precursor of the
Later Tang
Tang, known in historiography as the Later Tang, was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China and the second of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in Chinese history.
The first three of the Later Tang's four e ...
.
Li Bian
Li Bian (7 January 889 – 30 March 943, courtesy name Zhenglun), known as Xu Gao between 937 and 939 and Xu Zhigao before 937, and possibly Li Pengnu during his childhood, also known posthumously by his temple name Liezu, was the founder and fi ...
(Xu Zhigao), the founder of the
Southern Tang
Southern Tang () was a state in Southern China that existed during Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, which proclaimed itself to be the successor of the former Tang dynasty. The capital was located at Nanjing in present-day Jiangsu Province ...
, also changed his surname to Li. The emperors of Later Tang and Southern Tang continued the Tang tradition of liberally bestowing the Li surname on their favoured people.
Other Li-surnamed dynasties include
Liang,
Western Xia
The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as ''Mi-nyak''Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China tha ...
(Tangut Empire), and
Shun
Shun may refer to one of the following:
*To shun, which means avoiding association with an individual or group
* Shun (given name), a masculine Japanese given name
*Seasonality in Japanese cuisine (''shun'', 旬)
Emperor Shun
* Emperor Shun ( ...
. All told, there have been 64 Li-surnamed emperors in Chinese history, ruling all or part of China for 650 years.
Adoption by non-Han Chinese peoples
![Tượng Lý Thái Tổ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/T%C6%B0%E1%BB%A3ng_L%C3%BD_Th%C3%A1i_T%E1%BB%95.jpg)
Influenced by
Chinese culture
Chinese culture () is one of the world's oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia and is extremely diverse and varying, with customs and traditions varying grea ...
, many non-
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...
peoples living in and near China have adopted Chinese-style surnames throughout history, and Li is one of the most common surnames adopted. Li has been used by the
Bai people
The Bai, or Pai ( Bai: Baipho, (白和); ; endonym pronounced ), are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province, Bijie area of Guizhou Province, and Sangzhi area of Hunan Province. They constitu ...
for more than 1,000 years, and is one of the top three surnames among the Bai. Li is the fifth of the twelve most common surnames of the
Yao people
The Yao people (its majority branch is also known as Mien; ; vi, người Dao) is a government classification for various minorities in China and Vietnam. They are one of the 55 officially recognised ethnic minorities in China and reside in ...
, who adopted the name more than 800 years ago. Li also has history of 500 years among the
Miao people
The Miao are a group of linguistically-related peoples living in Southern China and Southeast Asia, who are recognized by the government of China as one of the 56 List of ethnic groups in China, official ethnic groups. The Miao live primarily in ...
. Among the 55
officially recognized ethnic minorities in China, 33 are known to use the Li surname.
Outside China, the surname has also been adopted in Korea and Vietnam.
The first recording of the Korean Lee, Yi (이) surname appeared as early as in the early
Three Kingdoms of Korea period (57 BCE - 668 CE) and was adopted among noblemen. Today, Lee (romanized as Lee, I, Yi (South Korea), Ri (North Korea)) is one of the top five Korean surnames. The surname today traces its roots to two main families in Korea. The first, the most famous, is the
Jeonju Yi clan
The Jeonju Yi clan () is a Korean clan with the surname Yi. Their Bon-gwan is in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. The clan includes the former House of Yi which ruled the Joseon dynasty and the Korean Empire.
Their founder was Yi Han (). His des ...
, the surname of
Yi Seong-gye
Taejo of Joseon (4 November 1335 – 27 June 1408), born Yi Seong-gye (), was the founder and first ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. After ascending to the throne, he changed his name to Yi Dan (), and reigned from 1392 to 1398. He was ...
, 이성계, the first ruler of the
Joseon Dynasty
Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...
. Yi was also the last ruling surname in Korea and ruled for around 500 years. The second is the Gyeongju Lee clan, which was founded by Yi Al-pyeong, 이알평), one of the
village headmen who chose
Park Hyeokgeose as the first King of
Silla
Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of K ...
. According to the ''
Samguk Sagi
''Samguk Sagi'' (, ''History of the Three Kingdoms'') is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. The ''Samguk Sagi'' is written in Classical Chinese, the written language of the literati of ancient Korea, ...
'', the Yi name was officially bestowed on the family by
King Yuri of Silla around 9 BCE.
Li (spelled
Lý in modern Vietnamese) has been used in
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
for more than 2,000 years since 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 warr ...
, when
Northern Vietnam
Northern Vietnam ( vi, Bắc Bộ) is one of three geographical regions within Vietnam. It consists of three administrative regions: the Northwest (Vùng Tây Bắc), the Northeast (Vùng Đông Bắc), and the Red River Delta (Đồng Bằng S ...
was ruled as a province of the Han Empire. In 544, Vietnam gained temporary independence from China when
Lý Nam Đế
Lý Nam Đế ( chữ Hán: 李南帝, 503 – 13 April 548), personal name Lý Bí or Lý Bôn (李賁), was the founder of the Early Lý dynasty of Vietnam, ruling from 544 to 548.
Overview
Lý Bôn (李賁, sometimes read as Lý Bí) was a lo ...
founded the
Early Lý dynasty
The Early Lý dynasty ( vi, nhà Tiền Lý; Hán Nôm: ), also called the Former Lý dynasty or Anterior Lý dynasty, was a dynasty which ruled Vietnam from AD 544 to 602. Its founder Lý Bí assumed the title of "Southern Emperor" ('). ...
. Lý Nam Đế (Li Nan Di), as an ethnic Chinese, ruled as an emperor of Vietnam. In 1009,
Lý Thái Tổ
Lý Thái Tổ ( vi-hantu, , 8 March 974 – 31 March 1028), Vietnamese name, personal name Lý Công Uẩn, temple name Thái Tổ, was a Vietnamese people, Vietnamese emperor, the founder of the Lý dynasty of Vietnam and the 6th ruler of ...
established the Later
Lý dynasty
The Lý dynasty ( vi, Nhà Lý, , chữ Nôm: 茹李, chữ Hán: 李朝, Hán Việt: ''Lý triều'') was a Vietnamese dynasty that existed from 1009 to 1225. It was established by Lý Công Uẩn when he overthrew the Early Lê dynasty an ...
, which ruled Vietnam for more than 200 years.
In 1232, after the Lý dynasty was replaced by the
Trần dynasty
The Trần dynasty, (Vietnamese: Nhà Trần, chữ Nôm: 茹陳)also known as the House of Trần, was a Vietnamese dynasty that ruled over the Kingdom of Đại Việt from 1225 to 1400. The dynasty was founded when emperor Trần Thái T ...
,
Grand Preceptor
Grand Preceptor, also referred to as Grand Master, Section Cp2:192 C was the senior-most of the top three civil positions of the Chinese Zhou dynasty. The other two were Grand Tutor (太傅) and Grand Protector (太保), respectively. These three p ...
Trần Thủ Độ
Prince Trung Võ Trần Thủ Độ ( vi-hantu, 陳守度, 1194–1264) was a general and leader of the Trần clan during the reign of Lý Huệ Tông and Lý Chiêu Hoàng of Vietnam. Trần Thủ Độ was credited for overthrowing the Lý dyna ...
made some descendants of the Lý family change their surname to
Nguyễn
Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese name, Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. wiktionary:nguyên, Nguyên (元)is a different word and surname.
By some estimates 39 perc ...
.
Prominent clans
There are historically twelve prominent clans (''junwang'', 郡望) of Li, the most famous being those of the
Longxi and
Zhao commanderies. The Zhao clan, based in modern
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, an ...
's
Zhao County
Zhao County (Zhaoxian) (), a historic town called Zhaozhou () in the past, is located in the southwest of Hebei province southeast of the provincial capital Shijiazhuang, and south of Beijing. Its total land area is and total population is aroun ...
, traces its origin from
Li Mu
Li Mu (; died 229 BC), personal name Zuo (繓), courtesy name Mu (牧), was a Chinese military general of the State of Zhao during the Warring States period. He was named by Chinese historians as one of the four greatest generals of the late Wa ...
(died 229 BC), Lord Wu'an of the
State of Zhao
Zhao () was one of the seven major State (Ancient China), states during the Warring States period of ancient China. It was created from the three-way Partition of Jin, together with Han (state), Han and Wei (state), Wei, in the 5th century BC. ...
, a general of the
Warring States period
The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...
. The Zhao clan produced 17
prime ministers
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is no ...
during the Tang dynasty.
In 2010, a group of nine large tombs of the Zhao clan were discovered in
Zanhuang County
Zanhuang County () is a county in the southwestern Hebei Province, North China, bordering Shanxi province to the west. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital.
Administrative divisions ...
, dating from the
Northern Dynasties
The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Jin dynasty (266–420)#Eastern Jin, Eastern Jin dy ...
.
The Zhao clan remained the most prominent branch of the Li until it was surpassed by the Longxi during the Tang dynasty. The Longxi clan is named after the Longxi Commandery in southern
Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
province.
Li Chong (李崇), the first Qin governor of Longxi, is revered as its founder. The Han general
Li Guang
Li Guang (184-119 BC) was a Chinese military general of the Western Han dynasty. Nicknamed "Flying General" by the Xiongnu, he fought primarily in the campaigns against the nomadic Xiongnu tribes to the north of China. He was known to the Xiong ...
, famous for defeating the
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...
, came from Longxi. Centuries later, the Tang emperors traced their ancestry to the Longxi clan, making it the most prominent branch ever since.
The Longxi Li is considered one of the four great cultural traditions of Gansu province.
Longxi County
Longxi is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Dingxi in the southeast of Gansu Province, China.
Administration
Longxi has twelve towns and five townships. The county seat is Gongchang.
;Towns:
;Towns upgraded to ...
has built a museum for the Li clan, and hosted the Longxi Li cultural festival in 2012.
There are 2,157
genealogy book
A genealogy book or register is used in Asia and Europe to record the family history of ancestors.
Greater China
It is the Chinese tradition to record family members in a book, including every male born in the family, who they are married to, e ...
s of Li families known to be extant.
Historical distribution and migration
![World Headquarters of the Lee's Family, Taipei](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/World_Headquarters_of_the_Lee%27s_Family%2C_Taipei._2012.jpg)
Having originated in what is now Henan province, Li has spread to
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-lev ...
, Hebei,
Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...
,
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
, and
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
provinces by the end of the
Warring States period
The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...
. During the Qin dynasty, the Lis spread to
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
and
Guangxi
Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...
provinces, while Li Chong established the Longxi Li clan in Gansu.
During the early Tang dynasty many Lis migrated to
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
and
Hainan
Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
provinces. After the mass adoption of the imperial Li surname during the Tang period, Li became the second most common surname during the subsequent Song dynasty, after Wang. There were approximately 5.6 million people with the surname, or 7.2% of the total population at the time, with large concentrations in the northern provinces of Hebei, Henan, and
Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
.
The
Mongol invasion of China
The Mongol conquest of China was a series of major military efforts by the Mongol Empire to conquer various empires ruling over China. It spanned six decades in the 13th century and involved the defeat of the Jin dynasty, Western Liao, We ...
in the 13th century caused widespread depopulation in northern China. Li, being overrepresented in the north, was hit especially hard. In the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
following the Mongol
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...
, the Li-surnamed population had declined to 5.1 million, constituting 5.5% of the total population. It fell behind
Zhang Zhang may refer to:
Chinese culture, etc.
* Zhang (surname) (張/张), common Chinese surname
** Zhang (surname 章), a rarer Chinese surname
* Zhang County (漳县), of Dingxi, Gansu
* Zhang River (漳河), a river flowing mainly in Henan
* ''Zha ...
to become the third most common surname of the time. Many of the Lis had migrated to
South China
South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...
by this period.
![Kingmenlee](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Kingmenlee.jpg)
After Chinese began immigrating to the West, a significant population of Li's now reside in the United States. Many have adopted the homonophonic English surname "Lee," elevating it to the
22nd-most common surname. Over 30% of Lee's in America identify as Asian/Pacific Islander in origin, making it the most common Chinese surname in the United States.
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
.
Genealogy Data: Frequently Occurring Surnames from Census 2000
". 27 Sept 2011. Accessed 29 Mar 2012.
See also
*
List of people with surname Li
This is a list of people with the surname Li (李). Lǐ is the pinyin romanization of the Chinese surname written in Chinese character. It is one of the most common surnames in China and the world, shared by more than 93 million people in China, ...
*
List of people with surname Lee
This is a list of persons with the surname Lee.
A
* Agnes Lee, American poet
* Alan Lee (footballer), former Irish footballer
* Albert Lee, English guitarist
* Alma Lee (1914-2000),, Swiss-born naturalised British philatelist
* Alvin Lee (194 ...
*
Lý (Vietnamese surname)
Lý ( Hán-Nôm: 李, , pronounced like ) is a Vietnamese surname. It is the 14th most common Vietnamese surname and is the 1176th most common American surname, according to the 2010 United States Census.
Origin
Traditionally, the surname Li is d ...
*
Lee (Korean surname)
Lee, Revised Romanization of Korean, I, or Yi () is the List of South Korean surnames by prevalence, second-most-common surname in Korea, behind Kim (Korean surname), Kim (김). Historically, 李 was officially written as Ni () in Korea. The ...
*
Li (Lee) Family
The Li family of Kung Fu 李家功夫 is commonly known as one of the five famous family styles of Southern Chinese martial arts.
Li Sou
The Li family is originally from Lanzhou in the Gansu province of China.
Legend has it that prior to Li S ...
*
House of Li
The House of Li () was the ruling house of the Western Liang dynasty and the Tang dynasty of China.
Family information
The Li family originated in the Longxi Commandery and had Han ethnic origins. They were also known as the Longxi Li lineage ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Li
Chinese-language surnames
Individual Chinese surnames
Surnames of Malaysian origin