Mi is the ancient ancestral surname , most notably the name of the imperial house of

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 ...

during the

Warring States period 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 ...

. It is also the

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 ...

romanisation of various modern

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 th ...

s, including , , and others.

Mǐ

The ''Mǐ'' () were the royal house of the states of

Chu Chu or CHU may refer to: Chinese history * Chu (state) (c. 1030 BC–223 BC), a state during the Zhou dynasty * Western Chu (206 BC–202 BC), a state founded and ruled by Xiang Yu * Chu Kingdom (Han dynasty) (201 BC–70 AD), a kingdom of the Ha ...

and Kui (夔) during the later

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 ...

. They claimed descent from

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, ...

via his grandson

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 record ...

, whom they credited with founding their dynasty. The Chu Lexicon at the

University of Massachusetts The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system and the only public research system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and a medi ...

conjectures that it was a native

word whose meaning was "bear", explaining the cadet members of the family recorded with the surname Xiong ( Chinese: "bear"). Chu had a long history of dividing its royal family into numerous cadet branches. Two of the earliest branches of Mi were Dou (鬬) and Cheng (成), together they were known as the

Ruo'ao clan Ruo'ao (, died 764 BC) was from 790 to 764 BC the monarch of the state of Chu during the Western Zhou Dynasty of ancient China. Born Xiong Yi (), he was the first Chu ruler to be given a posthumous title. Like other early Chu rulers, Ruo'ao he ...

. Jing clan (景), Zhao clan (昭), and Qu (屈) clan were later formed by descendants of different Chu kings. Sanlü (三閭) was the unified clan name for Jings, Zhaos and Qus. Minor branches include Ye (葉, originally Shenyin 沈尹), Xiang (項), Lan (蘭), Zha (查) among others. Some of the Pans () of China come from a cadet branch of the family, descended from Pan Chong of the Chu line.

Notable people with the surname

Mi (羋)

* Kings of Chu * Mi Bazi (羋八子, the Queen of Qin's King Huiwen.) *

Qu Yuan Qu Yuan ( – 278 BCE) was a Chinese poet and politician in the State of Chu during the Warring States period. He is known for his patriotism and contributions to classical poetry and verses, especially through the poems of the ' ...

(屈原, clan name Qu, author of

Chu Ci The ''Chu ci'', variously translated as ''Verses of Chu,'' ''Songs of Chu'', or ''Elegies of Chu'', is an ancient anthology of Chinese poetry including works traditionally attributed mainly to Qu Yuan and Song Yu from the Warring States perio ...

) * Xiang Yu (項羽, clan name Xiang, Chinese historical hero who was famous for his rivalry with Liu Bang) *

Duke of Ye Shen Zhuliang (), Duke of Ye () or Gao, Duke of Ye () (c. 529 BCE – after 478 BCE), was a general and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. Shen Zhuliang's father, Shen Yin Shu, was a g ...

( Prime minister of Chu during the late

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 fr ...

. Clan name Ye, the first Ye.) * Ban Gu,

Ban Chao Ban Chao (; 32–102 CE), courtesy name Zhongsheng, was a Chinese diplomat, explorer, and military general of the Eastern Han Dynasty. He was born in Fufeng, now Xianyang, Shaanxi. Three of his family members—father Ban Biao, elder brother ...

and Ban Jieyu (three siblings from Ruo'ao clan)

Mi (米)

59th on the "Hundred Family Surnames". It is considered one of the "

Nine Sogdian Surnames Sogdia (Sogdian language, Sogdian: ) or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also ...

." * Mi Fu (Chinese: 米芾 or 米黻; pinyin: Mǐ Fú, also given as Mi Fei, 1051–1107) was a Chinese painter, poet, and calligrapher born in Taiyuan during 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 res ...

Mi (禰)

Mi Heng Mi Heng ( 173198), courtesy name Zhengping, was an ancient Chinese writer and musician who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He is best known for his ''fu'' rhapsody "''Fu'' on the Parrot", which is his only work that has survived to mod ...

(禰衡; 173 – 200) – Scholar in the Late

Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

Mi (糜)

Mi Zhu Mi Zhu ( 165–221), courtesy name Zizhong, was a Chinese military general and politician who served under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty, during the Three Kingdoms period, after Liu Bei founded the state of Shu Han. He was ...

(糜竺; died c. 221) – Official under warlord Liu Bei in the Late

* Mi Fang (糜芳) General under Liu Bei then military general of

Eastern Wu Wu ( Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' < Eastern Han Chinese: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in historiography as Eastern Wu o ...

* Lady Mi (麋夫人), wife of warlord Liu Bei

References

Chinese-language surnames Multiple Chinese surnames {{surname-stub Eight surnames of Zhurong