Shao (;

Cantonese Romanisation 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 ...

: Shiu;

Gwoyeu Romatzyh Gwoyeu Romatzyh (), abbreviated GR, is a system for writing Mandarin Chinese in the Latin alphabet. The system was conceived by Yuen Ren Chao and developed by a group of linguists including Chao and Lin Yutang from 1925 to 1926. Chao himself lat ...

: Shaw) is a common

Chinese family name 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 W ...

. It is the 86th most populous family name in China. It corresponds to last name So in Korean; "Thiệu" or "Thiều" in Vietnamese; “Zau” in Wu Chinese/Shanghainese and Siu, Chow, or Sho in other Chinese romanisations. The origin of the family name Shao is thought to have come from the royal lines of 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 ancient China. The King's loyal subject

Duke of Shao Shi, Duke Kang of Shao (died 1000 BC), or Ji Shi, also known as the Earl of Shao, was a high-ranking minister of the early Zhou dynasty. He was a younger brother of King Wu, the founding king of Zhou. Siding with his half-brother Duke of Zhou, Du ...

(召公), was thought to have originated the Shao lines.

Notable people

Shao Yong Shao Yong (; 1011–1077), courtesy name Yaofu (堯夫), named Shào Kāngjié (邵康節) was a Chinese cosmologist, historian, philosopher, and poet who greatly influenced the development of Neo-Confucianism across China during the Song dynast ...

(邵雍; 1011–1077), philosopher, cosmologist, poet and historian who greatly influenced the development of Neo-Confucianism in China during the Song dynasty *

Shao Mi Shao Mi (Shao Mi, traditional: 邵彌, simplified: 邵弥); ca. 1592-1642 was a Chinese landscape painter, calligrapher, and poet during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). Shao was born in Changzhou County (長洲縣, not Changzhou) (now part of ...

(邵弥); ca. 1592-1642 Chinese landscape painter, calligrapher, and poet during the Ming Dynasty *

Shao Jiayi Shao Jiayi (; born 10 April 1980) is a Chinese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He represented Beijing Guoan (two spells), TSV 1860 Munich, Energie Cottbus and MSV Duisburg as well as the China national team with whi ...

邵佳一 Chinese soccer player *

Shao Ning Shao Ning (; born 1982-02-17 in Shandong) is a male Chinese judoka who competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the Half heavyweight (90–100 kg) event. Major performances *2007 Birmingham World Cup - 5th -90 kg class See also ...

(born 1982), Chinese judoka *

Shao Xunmei Shao Xunmei (; Shanghainese: Zau Sinmay; 1906–1968) was a Chinese poet and publisher.Sun and Swindall, p133 He was a contributing writer for '' T'ien Hsia Monthly'', and also was the owner of ''Modern Sketch''.Jones, Andrew F. ''Developmental ...

a.k.a

Zau Sinmay Shao Xunmei (; Shanghainese: Zau Sinmay; 1906–1968) was a Chinese poet and publisher.Sun and Swindall, p133 He was a contributing writer for '' T'ien Hsia Monthly'', and also was the owner of ''Modern Sketch''.Jones, Andrew F. ''Developmental ...

Chinese poet and publisher. * Shao Tong (1994–2014), Chinese student murdered in Iowa *The Shaw brothers: **

Runje Shaw Runje Shaw (1896–1975), also known as Shao Zuiweng (C.W. Shaw) and Shao Renjie, was a Chinese film entrepreneur, producer and director. The eldest of the Shaw brothers, in 1925 he founded Tianyi Film Company (also called Unique Film Producti ...

(1896–1975) **

Runde Shaw Runde Shaw (1898–1973), also known as Shao Cunren and Shao Rendi, was the second-oldest of the Shaw brothers, originally from Ningbo, Zhejiang, China, who established Tianyi Film Company (also called Unique) in Shanghai in the early 1920s, se ...

(1899–1973) **

Runme Shaw Runme Shaw, K.St.J (; 1 January 1901 – 2 March 1985) was the chairman and founder of the Shaw Organisation of Singapore. Runme Shaw and his brother, Run Run Shaw, together known as the Shaw Brothers, were pioneers in the film and entertainmen ...

(1901–1985) **

Run Run Shaw Sir Run Run Shaw (19 November 1907 – 7 January 2014), also known as Shao Yifu and Siu Yat-fu, was a Hong Kong entertainment mogul and philanthropist. He was one of the most influential figures in the Asian entertainment industry. He founde ...

(1907–2014) * Shao Yunhuan (邵云环), Chinese journalist killed in the 1999

United States bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade On May 7, 1999, during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia (Operation Allied Force), five U.S. Joint Direct Attack Munition guided bombs hit the People's Republic of China embassy in the Belgrade district of New Belgrade, killing three Chinese state ...

Ivy Shao Ivy Shao () is a Taiwanese actress, singer and model. She is best known for her leading role in the 2016 hit drama, ''Back to 1989''. Since then, she has also starred in '' The Perfect Match'' with Wu Kang-jen and Ben Wu in 2017. Career 2008� ...

(邵雨薇; pinyin: Shao Yu Wei) is a Taiwanese actress

Fictional Characters

Shao Kahn Shao Kahn is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Depicted as emperor of the fictional realm Outworld, he is one of the franchise's primary villains. Feared for his immen ...

Emperor of Outworld in the

Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a v ...

universe. {{surname, Shao Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames