Tián (), or T'ien in Wade-Giles is a

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 ...

. An alternative transliteration of "田" from Cantonese is Tin, from Hokkien is Thinn. It appeared in the '' Hundred Family Surnames'' text from the early Song Dynasty. It also means "field". In 2019 it was the 34th most common surname in Mainland China. The same character is Jeon in Korean

hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...

and is 16th most common in South Korea.

Origins

* perhaps from a fief called Tian (田), which in Old Chinese is pronounced similar to (陳) in Qi state, which was granted to Chen Wan (陳完), a Prince in the State of Chen, who fled to Qi in order to escape persecution. The Qi clan also went on to rule Qi for many generations. * possibly dates even further back to the post name of an official in charge of the management of farmlands who served 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 ...

* adopted in place of the Chinese surname Huang (黃) by the son of the official Huang Zicheng during 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 ...

, in order to avoid persecution.

Notable people

* Tian Bingyi (born 1963), Chinese men's badminton player and 1992 Olympic medallist *

Tian Bu Tian Bu () (785 – February 6, 822), courtesy name Dunli (), was a Chinese military general of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. He was the son of the general Tian Hongzheng, and after Tian Hongzheng's death at the hands of Chengde Circuit (成德, headqu ...

(785–822), military general of the Chinese Tang dynasty *

Tian Chengping Tian Chengping (; born January 1945) is a politician in the People's Republic of China. Biography Born in Daming County, Hebei Province, Tian joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in April 1964, and started working in February 1968. He se ...

(born 1945), Chinese communist politician * Tian Chengsi (705–779), military general of the Chinese rebel state Yan * Tien Chung-kwang, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (2020-) *

Tian Dan Tian Dan () was a general and nobleman of the major state of Qi during the Warring States period of ancient China. He was known for a spectacular military tactic called "Fire Cattle Columns". After the kingdom was nearly destroyed under the rule o ...

(fl. 300 BC), military general during ancient China's Warring States period * Tian Feng (died 200), advisor to Yuan Shao during the late Han Dynasty *

Tian Fengshan Tian Fengshan (; born October 1940 in Zhaoyuan County, Heilongjiang) is a former Chinese politician who was convicted of corruption and sentenced to life in prison. Biography Tian became a member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 1970. ...

(born 1940), Chinese communist official *

Gang Tian Tian Gang (; born November 24, 1958) is a Chinese mathematician. He is a professor of mathematics at Peking University and Higgins Professor Emeritus at Princeton University. He is known for contributions to the mathematical fields of Kähler g ...

(born 1958), Chinese-American mathematician * Tian Han (1898–1968), Chinese revolutionary lyricist and playwright, wrote ''

March of the Volunteers The "March of the Volunteers" (), originally titled the "March of the Anti-Manchukuo Counter-Japan Volunteers", has been the official national anthem of the People's Republic of China since 1978. Unlike previous Chinese state anthems, it was ...

'' * Tian Hongzheng (764–821), military general during the Chinese Tang Dynasty * Tian Houwei (born 1992), Chinese men's badminton player * Hebe Tien (born 1983), a famous Taiwanese Mando-pop singer, and member of

S.H.E S.H.E is a Taiwanese girl group whose members are Selina Jen, Hebe Tien, and Ella Chen. They formed in 2001 and are managed by HIM International Music but decided not to renew their contract in 2019 due to having their own management company. Si ...

Tian Huaijian Tian Huaijian () (b. 802) was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, who, in his childhood, briefly served as the ruler of Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern Handan, Hebei), which had been held by his family for generations. The ...

(fl. 800), military general during the Chinese Tang Dynasty *

Tian Ji Tian Ji (), courtesy name Qi (齐), was a military general of the Qi state during the early Warring States period (4th century BC) of Chinese history. Tian Ji met Sun Bin and recommended him to King Wei of Qi as a military strategist. Tian Ji com ...

(fl. 300 BC), military general of the Qi state during the early Warring States period *

Tian Jia Tian Jia (; born 9 February 1981 in Tianjin) is a female Chinese professional beach volleyball player. Career Tian won the bronze medal in the women's team competition at the 2005 Beach Volleyball World Championships in Berlin, Germany, par ...

(born 1981), Chinese female beach volleyball player * Tian Ji'an (781 or 782–812), military general during the Chinese Tang Dynasty * Tin Ka Ping or Tian Jiabing (1919–2018), Hong Kong entrepreneur and philanthropist * Tian Jianxia (born 1986), Chinese men's handball player *

Tian Jiyun Tian Jiyun (; born June 1929 in Feicheng, Shandong) is a retired politician in the People's Republic of China, known as a supporter of Deng Xiaoping's reforms. The best-known feature of his biography is the speech of 1992, delivered in the Centra ...

(born 1929), Chinese communist politician * Tian Jun (858–903), warlord during the late Chinese Tang Dynasty *

Tian Jun (rower) Tian Jun (; born 1 January 1982 in Zhongxiang, Jingmen, Hubei) is a male Chinese rower, who competed for Team China at the 2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beij ...

(born 1982), Chinese male rower *

Tian Kai Tian Kai (died 199) was an official serving under the warlord Gongsun Zan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Little is recorded about Tian Kai in history. He probably started his career as a subordinate of the warlord Gongsun ...

(died 199), Chinese official in Qing Province during the Chinese Tang Dynasty *

Tian Kehan Khan of Heaven or Tian Kehan, Celestial Kha(ga)n, Heavenly Kha(ga)n, Tengri Kha(ga)n (; Old Turkic: 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃𐰴𐰍𐰣‬) was a title addressed to the Emperor Taizong of Tang by various Turkic nomads. It was first mentioned in accounts on ...

, honorific name used to refer to various Chinese leaders * Tian Liang (rower) (born 1986), Chinese female Olympic rower * Tian Liang (born 1979), Chinese male diver and two-time Olympic champion *

Tian Liming ''Tiān'' () is one of the oldest Chinese terms for heaven and a key concept in Chinese mythology, philosophy, and religion. During the Shang dynasty (17th―11th century BCE), the Chinese referred to their supreme god as '' Shàngdì'' (, "Lor ...

(born 1955), Chinese painter and artist * Tian Lingzi (died 893), eunuch during the reign of Emperor Xizong of Tang * Tian Mingjian (1964–1994), Chinese First Lieutenant and spree killer *

Tian Pengfei Tian Pengfei (, born 16 August 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He began his career by playing the Challenge Tour in 2004, at the time the second-level professional tour. Tian played on the Main Tour in 2006 and competed on the Wo ...

(born 1987), Chinese male snooker player *

Tian Qing Tian Qing (; born 19 August 1986) is a Chinese badminton player specializing in doubles. Career Tian Qing started to practice badminton with her father Tian Jianyi who also a badminton coach in Anhua Sports School at aged 7. In 1998, she move ...

(born 1986), Chinese women's badminton player *

Tian Songyao Tian Songyao, also Romanized as Tin Chung-yao (田颂尧 (1888–1975), was a warlord of the Sichuan clique, Kuomintang general, later official of People's Republic of China. Tian Songyao was born on 1888 in Jianyang, Sichuan. Tian joined the Sic ...

(1888–1975), Chinese warlord of the Sichuan clique and later Kuomintang general * Tian Tian (chess player) (born 1983), Chinese female chess grandmaster *

Tian Wang Heavenly King or Tian Wang () is a Chinese title for various religious deities and divine leaders throughout history, as well as an alternate form of the term ''Son of Heaven'', referring to the emperor. The Chinese term for Heavenly King consist ...

, honorific name used to refer to various Chinese leaders * Tian Xiusi (born 1950), Chinese communist politician and military general * Tian Xu, military general during the late Chinese Han Dynasty * Tian Xu (Tang Dynasty) (764–796), military general during the Chinese Tang Dynasty * Tian Ye (footballer), Tian Ye (born 1972), Chinese former football goalkeeper * Tian Ye (skier), Tian Ye (born 1982), male Chinese cross-country skier and biathlete * Tian Yi (1534–1605), Ming Dynasty court eunuch * Tian Yu (171-252), military general of the state of Cao Wei * Tian Yue (751–784), military general during the Chinese Tang Dynasty * Tian Yunzhang (born 1945), Chinese calligrapher and academic * Tian Yuan (singer) (born 1985), Chinese musician and actress * Tian Yuan (table tennis) (born 1975), Chinese-Croatian table tennis player * Tian Yuan (weightlifter) (born 1993), Chinese female weightlifter * Tian Yumei (born 1965), Chinese former sprint athlete * Tian Zhen (born 1966), Chinese rock singer * Tian Zhuangzhuang (born 1952), Chinese film director and producer * Chang-Lin Tien or Tian Changlin (1935–2002), Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley (1990–97) * James Tien (actor), Chinese actor * James Tien (politician) (born 1947), a Hong Kong businessman and politician, current Chairman of the Liberal Party * Michael Tien, brother of James Tien (politician) *John Tien, American military and government official

Fictional characters

* Tian Hu, antagonist in the ''Water Margin'' * Tian Qilang, protagonist of a short story with the same name in ''Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio''

References

{{surname, Tian Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames

Origins

Notable people

Fictional characters

See also

References