Qín () (秦) is a common Chinese surname. "Qin" is the hanyu pinyin romanization of the surname for Mandarin, the common dialect of China; other romanizations of the surname include Chin and Jin in Mandarin, Ceon and Cheun in Cantonese, and Tần (or Tan when commonly written without accent in ASCII) in Vietnamese. People with this surname are most commonly found in

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

, Shandong,

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 ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...

and

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and 0 ...

. It is the 18th 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. Other surnames romanized as "Qin" include 欽/钦.

History

According to the ''

Shuowen Jiezi ''Shuowen Jiezi'' () is an ancient Chinese dictionary from the Han dynasty. Although not the first comprehensive Chinese character dictionary (the ''Erya'' predates it), it was the first to analyze the structure of the characters and to give t ...

'', the character for Qin is a compound ideogram which combined two characters: ''chong'' 舂 "to pound", and ''he'' 禾 "grain". The character originally refers to Qin Valley (秦谷) in Longxi near

Tianshui Tianshui is the second-largest city in Gansu Province, China. The city is located in the southeast of the province, along the upper reaches of the Wei River and at the boundary of the Loess Plateau and the Qinling Mountains. As of the 2020 ce ...

, Gansu and became the name of that area. The area was granted to

Feizi Feizi (; died 858 BC), also known by the title Qin Ying, was the founder of the ancient Chinese state of Qin, predecessor of the Qin Dynasty that would conquer all other Chinese states and unite China in 221 BC. Mythical origin of Qin Accordi ...

, a descendants of Gao Tao, by

King Xiao of Zhou King Xiao of Zhou (), personal name Ji Bifang, was the eighth king of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. Estimated dates of his reign are 891–886 BC or 872–866 BC. He was a son of King Mu and brother of King Gong. His reign is poorly documented. ...

as a fief in the 9th century BC, which then grew into the state of Qin. In the 3rd century BC, the state of Qin unified China and became the first imperial dynasty under

Qin Shi Huang Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of " king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Empero ...

. After the fall of the dynasty in 206 BC, the descendants of Qin royalty, whose ancestral name was Yíng (), was said to have adopted the surname Qin. Many people sought to identify themselves with the Qin long since the fall of the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...

; in Japan, the

Hata clan was an immigrant clan active in Japan since the Kofun period (250–538), according to the history of Japan laid out in '' Nihon Shoki''. ''Hata'' is the Japanese reading of the Chinese surname ''Qin'' () given to the State of Qin and the Qin ...

of Japan claims descent from a branch of the Qin royal family, "Hata" being the native Japanese reading for the character "Qin". Another origin came from the Qin City (秦邑; present-day Fan County,

) in the state of Lu (鲁). During the early

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 ...

in the 10th century BC,

Boqin Bo Qin ( Chinese: , p ''Bóqín''), also known as Qin Fu (禽父), was the founder of the State of Lu during the early Zhou dynasty. Born into the royal Ji family (), he was the eldest son of the Duke of Zhou. Instead of inheriting his ...

the son of the Duke of Zhou, originally surnamed Ji (姬), was given the state of Lu, and his descendants who were assigned to the Qin estate adopted the name of their place of residence as their surname. After the opening of the Silk Road in the 2nd century BC,

Daqin Daqin (; alternative transliterations include Tachin, Tai-Ch'in) is the ancient Chinese name for the Roman Empire or, depending on context, the Near East, especially Syria. It literally means "great Qin"; Qin () being the name of the founding dyn ...

(大秦, Great Qin) was the name used by the Han Chinese for the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

. Some people to the west of China arriving via the Silk Road was therefore said to have adopted the surname Qin. Various non-Han people of China also took "Qin" as their surname, such as the

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...

, the Daurs, the

Manchus The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

, and the Jurchen Moyan (抹捻 during the Jin dynasty and 穆颜 during the Manchu period). Ancient Chinese texts recorded that one of the friends of the legendary sage king Emperor Shun (23rd century BC) was named Qin Buxu (秦不虛). However, no record exists of the later lineages of this Qin Buxu.

Notable people with the surname

Historical

* Qin Kai (秦開), general of the

Yan state Yan (; Old Chinese pronunciation: ''*'') was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Its capital was Ji (later known as Yanjing and now Beijing). During the Warring States period, the court was also moved to another capital at Xiadu ...

* Qin Wuyang (秦舞陽; died 227 BC), grandson of Qin Kai, accompanied Jing Ke to assassinate Qin Shi Huang Di in 227 BC * Qin Jia (秦嘉), Eastern Han Dynasty poet *

Qin Lang Qin Lang ( 227–238), courtesy name Yuanming, was a military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Family background Qin Lang was born in the late Eastern Han dynasty and his ancestral home was in Xinxing ...

(秦朗), Wei general of the Three Kingdoms period * Qin Qiong (秦瓊; died 638), Tang Dynasty general *

Qin Zongquan Qin Zongquan (; died April 1, 889) was a Chinese military general, monarch, politician, rebel, and warlord during the Tang Dynasty. He was later a claimant to the imperial throne, in competition with Emperor Xizong of Tang and, later, Emperor Xiz ...

(秦宗權; died 889), Tang Dynasty warlord *

Qin Guan Qin Guan (; 1049 – c. 1100) was a Chinese poet of the Song Dynasty. His courtesy name was Shaoyou (). Taixu was also his courtesy name. His pseudonym was Huaihai Jushi () and Hangou Jushi (). He was honored as one of the "Four Scholars of Sumen ...

(秦觀; 1049 – c. 1100), Song Dynasty writer and poet * Qin Hui (秦檜; 1090–1155), Southern Song Dynasty politician *

Qin Jiushao Qin Jiushao (, ca. 1202–1261), courtesy name Daogu (道古), was a Chinese mathematician, meteorologist, inventor, politician, and writer. He is credited for discovering Horner's method as well as inventing Tianchi basins, a type of rain gau ...

(秦九韶; 1202–1261), Southern Song Dynasty mathematician * Qin Liangyu (秦良玉; 1574-1648), Ming Dynasty general *

Qin Rigang Qin Rigang (秦日綱, 1821 – 1856), né Qin Richang (秦日昌), was a Hakka military leader of the Taiping Rebellion, known during his military tenure as the King of Yen (燕王). He served under Hong Xiuquan's Taiping Administration and led ...

(秦日綱; 1821–1856), Taiping Rebellion leader *

Qin Jiwei Qin Jiwei (; 16 November 1914 – 2 February 1997) was a general of the People's Republic of China, Minister of National Defense and a member of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo. Qin Jiwei was born to a poor peasant family in Huang'an (now ...

(秦基伟; 1914-1997), general

Modern

* Qin Yi (秦怡; Qin Yi; 1922–2022), actress *

Charlie Chin Charlie Chin Hsiang-lin (; born May 19, 1948) is a Taiwanese actor. Background Born in Nanjing, China in 1948, he first had his break when he moved to Hong Kong with his family at an early age. At only 12 years of age Charlie moved to Taiwan t ...

(秦祥林; Qin Xianglin; born 1948), actor * Qin Hui (秦晖; born 1953), historian * Qin Guangrong (秦光荣; born 1954), politician * Qin Yu (秦裕; born 1964), politician * Qin Yiyuan (秦艺源; born 1973), badminton player * Qin Dongya (秦东亚; born 1978), judoka * Qin Hao (秦昊; born 1979), actor *

Qin Jinjing Qin Jinjing (; born 27 September 1996) is a former Chinese badminton player who later played for Australia. Career Qin Jinjing began to play badminton from the first grade of elementary school, when she was 10 years old. Her biggest achievem ...

(born 1996), China-born Australian badminton player *

Qin Lan Qin Lan (; born 17 July 1979) is a Chinese actress, model, and singer. She is known for her roles as Empress Fuca in ''Story of Yanxi Palace'', Zhihua in '' My Fair Princess III'' and Mo Xiangwan in '' We Are All Alone''. Career Qin won a Golde ...

(秦岚; born 1981), actress *

Qin Shaobo Qin Shaobo () (b. 1982 in Guangxi) is a Chinese actor, acrobat and contortionist. His first performance took place when he was 11 years old which resulted in him wanting to make acting a career. Qin's motion picture debut was in 2001, playing ...

(秦少波; born 1982), acrobat and actor * Qin Kai (秦凯; born 1986), diver * Qin Sheng (秦升; born 1986), football player *

Ren-Chang Ching Ren-Chang Ching (; 15 February 1898 – 22 July 1986), courtesy name Zinong, was a Chinese botanist who specialised in ferns. Life and work Ren-Chang Ching was a Chinese botanist and pteridologist who made significant collections of plants from ...

(1898–1986), botanist specialist of pteridophytes

References

{{surname, Qin Chinese-language surnames Qin (state) Qin dynasty Individual Chinese surnames