Yin () is a Chinese surname. In 800 BCE, Bo Jifu, a renowned judge during the reign of King Xuan of Zhou, held the position of Yin (equivalent to First Minister or most favored Minister) and changed his name to Yin Jifu. During the era of the

Imperial Examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

System, three other

magistrates The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

took on the surname Yǐn () to denote their Imperial rank and favoured status. It is the 100th name 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 dy ...

'' poem.K. S. Tom. 989(1989). Echoes from Old China: Life, Legends and Lore of the Middle Kingdom.

University of Hawaii Press A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

. . The Korean surname Yoon and the Vietnamese surname Doãn are derived from Yin and traditionally written in the same

Chinese character Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the Written Chinese, writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are k ...

. A 2013 study found it to be the 79th most common surname, being shared by 3,460,000 people or 0.260% of the population, with the province with the most being

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 ...

.中国四百大姓, 袁义达, 邱家儒, Beijing Book Co. Inc., 1 January 2013

Notable people

Yiin Chii-ming Yiin Chii-ming (; born 2 June 1952) is Taiwanese politician. He was the Minister of the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) of the Executive Yuan from 2012 to 2013. Education Yiin obtained his bachelor's degree from the Departm ...

(; born 1952) Minister of Economic Affairs of the Republic of China (2008–2009) *

Yin Fu Yin Fu () ( Chanhuaicun (), Jixian (), China, 1840 – China, June, 1909) was a Baguazhang (a martial art) disciple of Dong Haichuan responsible for the creation of the Yin Style Baguazhang. Yin Fu was Dong's earliest disciple in Prince ...

(), creator of a sub-branch of the Bagua martial art; bodyguard to the

Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; mnc, Tsysi taiheo; formerly Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Empress Dowager T'zu-hsi; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), of the Manchu people, Manchu Nara (clan)#Yehe Nara, Yehe Nara clan, was a Chinese nob ...

and personal trainer of the Emperor. * Yin Han and Yin Zhen, members of the judiciary of 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 ...

. * Yin Lin, a painter 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 ...

. * Yin Zhongke, a member of the judiciary of 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 rest ...

. * Yin Zhangsheng, a painter of the Song Dynasty, * Yin Wen, a personal tutor of princes of 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 ...

Wan Kwong Jackson Wan Kwong ( zh, t=尹光), born Lữ Minh Quang ( zh, t=呂明光), is a singer from Hong Kong, nicknamed "the Temple Street Prince." Wan was born in Cholon, Saigon in 1949 to a Cantonese Vietnamese family and was trained as a Canton ...

(, born 1949 in Saigon, Vietnam), Hong Kong pop singer, born Lui Minkwong (呂明光 and also known as Jackson Wan Kwong), a singer from Hong Kong, known as "The Temple Street Prince" *

Yin Li (politician) Yin Li (; born August 1962) is a Chinese politician and former public health official, who currently serves as the Communist Party secretary of Beijing and a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party. Previously, he served as the ...

, Governor of Sichuan (2016–) *

Wan Kuok-koi Wan Kuok-koi (; born 1955), popularly known as Broken Tooth Koi (崩牙駒; Cantonese: bung nga keui; Mandarin: bēng yá jū), is a gangster and former leader of the Macau branch of the 14K triad. He was released after more than 14 years in pr ...

(; born 1955), popularly known as Broken Tooth Koi, former leader of the Macau branch of the 14K Triad * Yin Zheng (, born 1986), Chinese actor *

Terence Yin Terence Yin Chi-wai (, born 19 May 1975) is a Hong Kong film actor, singer, producer, and media relations specialist. Yin has starred in over 30 movies, released one solo album and resides in Hong Kong. Early life May 19, 1975, Yin was born ...

Chi-wai (; born 1975), a Chinese film actor *

Samuel Yin Samuel Yen-Liang Yin (; ) is a Taiwanese billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He is best known for the establishment of the Tang Prize, and as chairman of the Ruentex Financial Group. Education Yin studied history at Chinese Culture Unive ...

(; born 1950) Taiwanese billionaire businessman and philanthropist *

Xi Yin Xi Yin (; born December 1983 ) is a Chinese-American theoretical physicist. Biography Yin was accepted to University of Science and Technology of China in 1996, at the age of 12, and completed the (then) 5-year bachelor program in 2001. He gaine ...

(; born 1983) a Chinese-American theoretical physicist * Yin Mingshan (; born 1938 in Chongqing, Sichuan) a Chinese businessman, the chairman of Lifan Industrial Corporation * Nattawat Finkler Patrick Yin (; born 2003) Thai-German Actor, member of Chinese Boygroup

INTO1 Into1 (''pronounced as Into One'') is a multi-national Chinese boy group, formed through the 2021 reality show '' Produce Camp 2021'' (Chuang 2021) on Tencent Video. The group consists of 11 members: Liu Yu, Santa, Rikimaru, Mika, Nine, Lin Mo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yin Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames