Yang (; ) is the

transcription Transcription refers to the process of converting sounds (voice, music etc.) into letters or musical notes, or producing a copy of something in another medium, including: Genetics * Transcription (biology), the copying of DNA into RNA, the fir ...

of a

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 sixth most common surname in

Mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...

. It is the 16th surname on the ''

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 ...

'' text. The Yang clan was founded by Boqiao, son of

Duke Wu of Jin Duke Wu of Jin (, died 677 BC), ancestral name Ji (姬), given name Cheng (稱) and also known as Duke Wu of Quwo (), was the eighteenth ruler of the state of Jin. He was also the last ruler of the state of Quwo before he gained the title as the ...

in the Spring and Autumn Period of the Ji (姬) surname, the surname of the royal family 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 ...

) who was enfeoffed in the state of Yang.

History

The German sociologist

Wolfram Eberhard Wolfram Eberhard (March 17, 1909 – August 15, 1989) was a professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley focused on Western, Central and Eastern Asian societies. Biography Born in Potsdam, German Empire, he had a strong f ...

calls Yang the "Monkey Clan", citing the totemistic myth recorded in the ''

Soushenji The ''Soushen Ji'', variously translated as ''In Search of the Sacred'', ''In Search of the Supernatural'', and ''Anecdotes about Spirits and Immortals'', is a Chinese compilation of legends, short stories, and hearsay concerning Chinese gods, ...

'' and ''

Fayuan Zhulin ''Fayuan Zhulin'' (; "Forest of Gems in the Garden of the Dharma"), in 100 ''juan'' (卷 "volume", "fascicle"), is a Buddhist encyclopedia compiled AD 668 by Daoshi (道世). It comprises Buddhist and other ancient texts otherwise lost, and is th ...

'' that the Yangs living in southwestern Shu (modern

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 ...

) were descendants of monkeys. The ''Soushenji'' "reported that in the southwest of Shu there were monkey-like animals whose names were ''jiaguo'' (猳國), ''mahua'' (馬化), or '' jueyuan'' (玃猿). These animals abducted women and sent them back when they became pregnant. If the baby were not accepted, the woman would have to die. Therefore these children were raised and they received the clan name the Yang surname. For this reason this clan occurred quite frequently in Southwest Shu."

Emperor of Hua Xia System

Direct descendants of Huang Di of

Hua Xia ''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 ...

include descendants of

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 ...

and

Chiyou Chiyou (蚩尤, ) is a mythological being that appears in East Asian mythology. Individual According to the Song dynasty history book ''Lushi (book), Lushi'', Chiyou's surname was Jiang (surname 姜), Jiang (), and he was a descendant of Flame E ...

during

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 ...

, also many sons and grandsons of

Yu the Great Yu the Great (大禹) was a legendary king in ancient China who was famed for his introduction of flood control, his establishment of the Xia dynasty which inaugurated dynastic rule in China, and his upright moral character. He figures prominen ...

, have taken Yang as surname, some of its sub-domains are the prominent Yang Jian of Zhou which take role as a Heavenly Marshal take his colony to seek peace after Zhou Dynasty win and erected his colony peacefully. And also Yang Ren is known through the title of Grand Counselor. Which appear at

Fengshen Yanyi ''The Investiture of the Gods'', also known by its Chinese names () and is a 16th-century Chinese novel and one of the major vernacular Chinese works in the gods and demons (''shenmo'') genre written during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Cons ...

or Investiture of the Gods, novel accordingly to the historical founding of

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 ...

Korean System

Descendants of Yang Eulna (楊乙那), the first historical ancestor of the Jeju's Yang clan was a Shilla figure, but according to another source, his distant ancestor was one of three men who ascended from a cave on the north side of Cheju Island’s

Halla Mountain Hallasan is a shield volcano on Jeju Island in South Korea; it is the highest point of South Korea and the second-highest mountain in Korea overall, after Paektu Mountain. The area around the mountain is a designated national park, the Hallasan ...

, Jeju’s Tamnagook kingdom who built the Yang Clan there.

Renaming System

The Yang clan was founded by Boqiao (伯僑) and later become Yang Boqiao (楊伯僑) with Yang, as usual ducal courtesy name, son of

in 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 fr ...

of the Ji (姬) surname, the surname of the royal family during the

(c. 8th to 5th centuries BC) who was enfeoffed a vast land, the state of Yang, with its central in at ancient's Shaanxi. This name was derived from Yangshe (羊舌) literally “sheep’s tongue”. During 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 ...

(403–221 BC) his descendants fled to escape destruction by the conquering the Qin, and simplified their surname to Yang. Yang clan of Hongnong refer to themselves as "Yang of the Hall of Four Wisdoms (楊四知)". The "Hall of Four Wisdoms (四知堂)" refers to a story concerning Yang Zhen (楊震), an official of the

Eastern 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 ...

(206 BC - 220 AD), and known for his erudition as well as moral character. When a man named Wang Mi (王密) visited Yang Zhen at night and attempted to bribe him 10 catties of gold, Yang rejected the gift. Wang Mi persevered, saying that nobody would know. Yang Zhen famously retorted "Heaven knows, Earth knows, you know and I know. How can you say that nobody would know?" Descendants of Yang Zhen adopted the "four wisdoms", or "Si Zhi (四知)" as the title of their clan hall. Some Yang family clan halls in various parts of China still carry this name.

Translation of Yangs System

Homogenization of another surname pronounced ''Yang'' join into the Yang surname, written with a "hand" radical rather than the "wood" radical. The two characters were used interchangeably in ancient times. The Yang surname members adopted many local sounding and customizable Western style or another language beside Mandarin Chinese surnames with even neutralization name and changes rapidly through generations, but some still preserved Mandarin Chinese character name as secondary name beside the legal name, and appear a lot in some countries like Laos, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, etc. Some examples of it are

Karen Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand ** Karen languages or Karenic l ...

and other names at Thailand. Yang is most often the transliteration of the character 楊 . The same character can also mean a type of poplar. The character is composed of a "wood" radical ''mu'' (木) on the left and the character ''yi/yang'' ( 昜) on the right, which indicates the pronunciation of the whole character.

Lineage

This is current asserted prevalent lineage for the Yang surname prior to Boqiao: Huangdi (黃帝)->

Shaohao Shaohao or Shao Hao ( "Lesser Brightness"), also known Jin Tian (金天), was a legendary Chinese sovereign. Shaohao is usually identified as a son of the Yellow Emperor. According to some traditions (for example the ''Book of Documents''), he is a ...

(少昊)->

Emperor Ku Kù (, variant graph ), usually referred to as Dì Kù (), also known as Gaoxin or Gāoxīn Shì () or Qūn (), was a descendant of the Yellow Emperor. He went by the name Gaoxin until receiving imperial authority, when he took the name Ku and th ...

(帝喾)->

Hou Ji Hou Ji (or Houji; ) was a legendary Chinese culture hero credited with introducing millet to humanity during the time of the Xia dynasty.. Millet was the original staple grain of northern China, prior to the introduction of wheat. His name transl ...

(后稷)->

Gugong Danfu King Tai of Zhou () or Gugong Danfu () was a great leader of the Zhou clan during the Shang dynasty. His great-grandson Fa would later conquer the Shang and establish the Zhou dynasty. Name "King Tai" was a posthumous name bestowed upon him by hi ...

(古公亶父)->

King Wen of Zhou King Wen of Zhou (; 1152–1050 BC, the Cultured King) was Count of state of Zhou, Zhou during the late Shang dynasty in ancient China. Although frequently confused with his fourth son Duke of Zhou, also known as "Lord Zhou", they are different hi ...

(周文王)->

King Wu of Zhou King Wu of Zhou () was the first king of the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. The chronology of his reign is disputed but is generally thought to have begun around 1046 BC and ended three years later in 1043 BC. King Wu's ancestral name was ...

(周武王)->

Shu Yu of Tang Shu Yu of Tang (), ancestral name (姓): Ji (姬) given name (名): Yu (虞), and Ziyu (子於), was the founder of the State of Tang during the early Zhou Dynasty (1046–771 BC) of ancient China. The State of Tang would later be renamed Jin by ...

(唐叔虞)->

Marquis Mu of Jin Marquis Mu of Jin (), ancestral name Ji (姬), given name Feiwang (費王) or Fusheng (弗生), was the ninth ruler of the state of Jin during the Western Zhou Dynasty. After his father, Marquis Xian of Jin died in 812 BC, he ascended the thron ...

(晉穆侯)->

Zhuang Bo of Quwo Count Zhuang of Quwo (, died 716 BC), ancestral name Ji (姬), given name Shan (鱓), was the second ruler of the state of Quwo during the Spring and Autumn period. He was the son of Huan Shu of Quwo and half-brother of Wuzi of Han. In 724 BC, ...

(曲沃莊伯)->

(晉武公)->Boqiao ( 伯僑)-> Yang Shíwo ( 杨食我)

Polities ruled by Yang families

* Yang state of the

Chouchi Chouchi (), or Qiuchi (), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Yang clan of Di ethnicity in modern-day Gansu Province. Its existence spanned both the Sixteen Kingdoms and Northern and Southern dynasties periods, but it is not listed among ...

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 ...

Yang Wu Wu (), also referred to as Huainan (), Hongnong (), Southern Wu (), or Yang Wu (楊吳), was one of the Ten Kingdoms in eastern China which was in existence from 907 to 937. Its capital was Jiangdu Municipality () (modern Yangzhou in Jiangsu P ...

Kokang Kokang ( my, ကိုးကန့်; ) is a region in Myanmar (Burma). It is located in the northern part of Shan State, with the Salween River to its west, and sharing a border with China's Yunnan Province to the east. Its total land area i ...

Tamna Tamna, or Tamna-guk, was a state based on Jeju Island from ancient times until it was absorbed by the Korean Joseon dynasty in 1404, following a long period of being a tributary state or autonomous administrative region of various Korean kingd ...

* Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (East) * Giao Chỉ Dương Đình Nghệ *

Đại Việt Đại Việt (, ; literally Great Việt), often known as Annam ( vi, An Nam, Chữ Hán: 安南), was a monarchy in eastern Mainland Southeast Asia from the 10th century AD to the early 19th century, centered around the region of present-day ...

* Annam Dương Tam Kha *

Jonê County Jonê County (also ''Cone'', ''Chone'', ''Choni''; ; local pronunciation: /tɕɔLn� ) is an administrative district in the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province, China. It is one of 58 counties of Gansu. It is part of the Gannan P ...

Bozhou Bozhou () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Anhui province, China. It borders Huaibei to the northeast, Bengbu to the southeast, Huainan to the south, Fuyang to the southwest, and Henan to the north. Its population was 4,996,844 at the ...

* Great Yining * The Pacified Southern Kingdom * Legendary Champa Queenship (female) * VI, VII, VIII, IX Champa Dynasties * Lulong Circuit Yang Zhicheng * Tĩnh Hải quân (independent) Dương Thanh * Kauthara Yan Pu Nagara (female) * Haixi Jurchens chieftains Yangginu of Yehe or Yehe Nara Clan * Hoa People Dương Ngạn Địch * Anti-Qing Dynasty Yang Fuqing * Jin Guo Shandong Yang Miaozhen (female) * Jin Guo Shandong Yang An'er * Eastern Tujue Sui Guowang Yang Zhengdao * Northern Dynasty Yang Lie * Majapahit Empire Yang-wi-si-sa and Nyoo Lay Wa * New King Buddha III Liang Daomingguo Yang Xin * White Wave Bandits Yang Feng * Hunan the Great Sage Heavenly King Yang Yao * Shannan West Circuit Yang Shouliang * Chiefdom of Leipo * Xiushan Yang Clan Tusi

References

External links

Chinese surname history: Yang杨氏寻根网: Yang
{{surname, Yang Chinese-language surnames Korean-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames