Fàn () is a

Chinese family name Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in Greater China, 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 also one of the most common surnames in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, where it is written as Pham (范 - Phạm), and occurs in Korea as Beom (范, 범). It is the 46th 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 language , Chinese text composed of common Chinese surnames. An unknown author compiled the book ...

'' poem in Chinese.

Fàn (范)

History

The House of Fàn (Fàn Family or Fàn Clan) is a Chinese noble family that traces its origins to the model

Emperor Yao Emperor Yao (; traditionally c. 2356 – 2255 BCE) was a legendary China, Chinese ruler, according to various sources, one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Ancestry and early life Yao's ancestral name is Yi Qi () or Qi (), clan ...

, a legendary Chinese ruler who lived from 2358 – 2258 BCE. Emperor Yao is a 5th generation descendant of Emperor Huang (or

Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch, or Huangdi ( zh, t=黃帝, s=黄帝, first=t) in Chinese, is a mythical Chinese sovereign and culture hero included among the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. He is revered as ...

), and the second son of

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 t ...

. Until the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...

(1122–256 BCE), the Fàns are associated with the Du Clan. It is said that Duke of Tangdu (Du Bo), a direct descendant of Emperor Yao, was murdered by the penultimate king of the

Western Zhou The Western Zhou ( zh, c=西周, p=Xīzhōu; 771 BC) was a period of Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Zhou dynasty. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty at the Battle of Muye and ended in 77 ...

dynasty, King Xuan (周宣王, 827–781 BCE). The Duke's son, Xian Shu (隰叔, also called Du Xian or "Uncle Xian") fled to the state of Jin (present day

Shanxi Province Shanxi; formerly romanised as Shansi is a province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi and Datong. Its one-character abbreviation is ( ...

) and was eventually appointed Minister of Justice (shishi 士師). Xian Shu's son Shi Wei (士蒍) is the first person to use Shi (士, literally, judge) as a family name. Du Bo's great-grandson, Shi Hui (士会, posthumously called Fàn Wuzi (范武子)), distinguishes himself by defeating the neighboring tribes as Commander in Chief of the Jin army and is ennobled as

Duke of Sui Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ...

and Duke of Fàn. He gains the title Fàn Hui (范会), and is rewarded with lands southeast of Fàn (now

Fan County Fan County or Fanxian () falls under the jurisdiction of Puyang, in the northeast of Henan province, China. The Northern Expedition of the Taiping Rebellion attempt to cross the Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, i ...

Fànxian 范縣 in

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

) and the city of

Jiexiu Jiexiu is a county-level city in the central part of Shanxi Province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Jinzhong and is located in the latter's western confines. Notable sites in and around Jiexiu include ...

in south-central Shanxi province. His descendants adopted the place name, Fàn, as their kin's name and surname and more rarely assumed the name of Sui or Shi. Shi Hui's son takes the name of Fàn Quan (or Fàn Ziwen) and greatly expands the influence of the Fàn family as a powerful aristocratic force within the ancient state of Jin during the beginning of the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period () was a period in History of China, Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou (256 BCE), characterized by the gradual erosion of royal power as local lords nominally subject t ...

(771 to 476 BCE). Fàn Quan institutes the civil system for Jin, making it the earliest kingdom during the

to do so. For some time, the Fàn family is the most powerful aristocratic family within the state of Jin, and along with the Zhao, Han, Wei, Zhonghang and Zhi families comprised the six dominating clans of the state. Nevertheless, the Fàn family remained vassals to the Dukes of Jin until the later split of the Jin State. See Fàn Zhongyan In 490 BCE, the Fàn and Zhonghang clans are decisively defeated by the combined Zhao, Han, Wei, and Zhi forces. Subsequently, Fàn Jishe and Zhonghang Yin led their people to the

State of Qi Qi, or Ch'i in Wade–Giles romanization, was a ancient Chinese state, regional state of the Zhou dynasty in History of China#Ancient China, ancient China, whose rulers held Zhou dynasty nobility, titles of ''Hou'' (), then ''Gong (title), Go ...

. See

Duke Ding of Jin Duke Ding of Jin (), personal name Ji Wu, was from 511 BC to 475 BC the duke of the Jin state. He succeeded his father, Duke Qing, and was in turn succeeded by his son, Duke Chu. War of the clans After the extermination of the Luan clan by Du ...

. Around 473 BCE, the line of Fàn Li moves to the new capital of Yue in Wu (in what is now

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

province). Shortly after, Fàn Li resigned from the chancellorship of Yue and married

Xi Shi Xi Shi (Hsi Shih; , ), also known by the nickname Xizi, was one of the renowned Four Beauties of ancient China. She was said to have lived in a small Yue village (today part of Zhuji, a county-level city in Shaoxing, Zhejiang) during the end of ...

, one of the renowned

Four Beauties The Four Beauties or Four Great Beauties are four Chinese people, Chinese women who are renowned for their beauty and their impact on Chinese history through the influence they exercised over powerful men. The four are usually identified as Xi Sh ...

of ancient China. 284-260 B.C. marks the period of the Zhao state, which reached its climax in 269 B.C. when its forces decisively defeated two Qin armies. This paved the path for

Fan Sui Fan commonly refers to: * Fan (machine), a machine for producing airflow, often used for cooling * Hand fan, an implement held and waved by hand to move air for cooling * Fan (person), short for fanatic; an enthusiast or supporter, especially with ...

(also known as ), a former Wei statesman, to ascend to the position of chief minister to King Zhao. From this position, he halted the rise of the warlords who had accumulated large fortunes, assembled armies, and crowned themselves monarchs during the Warring States period. His death, occurring in tandem with the death of Qin chief general

Bai Qi Bai Qi (; – January 257 BC), also known as Gongsun Qi (), was a Chinese military general of the Qin (state), Qin state during the Warring States period. Born in Mei (present-day Mei County, Shaanxi), Bai Qi served as the commander of the Qin ...

, marked the end of a notable period of Warring States history and the inevitability of Qin dominance in the following decades. In 689, Fàn Lübing, a descendant of Fàn Li, becomes de facto chancellor of the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

. His grandson, Fàn Sui, would become the 5th generation ancestor of the famous Song dynasty chancellor Fàn Zhongyan. In 960 after serving under 11 other emperors and 5 dynasties including a decade-long chancellorship for the Later Zhou dynasty, Fàn Zhi (范質) becomes the first

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the new Song dynasty to Zhao Kuangyin, Emperor Taizu of Song. During the Song dynasty (960–1279) the Fàn family is one of several key families able to successfully transition from the Tang military aristocracy to a new elite gentry class of scholar bureaucrats. During this period, the family flourishes and cultivates substantial political and economic wealth, helping to govern the Middle Kingdom at the helm of the chancellorship for the longest period of any family. Prominent political figures during this era include Fàn Zhi (范質),

Fan Zhongyan Fan Zhongyan (5 September 989 – 19 June 1052), courtesy name Xiwen (), was an accomplished statesman, writer, scholar, and reformer of the northern Song dynasty. After serving multiple regional posts and at the imperial court for over two de ...

, Fàn Chunren (范純仁), Fàn Chunli (范純禮) and Fàn Chengda(范成大). Modern-day Fàn County (范县) is located in the

Puyang Puyang is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Henan province, People's Republic of China. Located on the northern shore of the Yellow River, it borders Anyang in the west, Xinxiang in the southwest, and the provinces of Shandong and Hebei ...

prefecture of north east Henan province. According to Baidu, the area's population is estimated at 504,000. Members of the Fàn family continue to thrive across a variety of different domains. The family's hometown is considered to be 40 miles northwest of Jingxian in

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

province. Some families of this name are derived from the Mǐ (芈) surname. * From Jurchen 孛鲁术氏 * From

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...

* The corresponding Vietnamese version is

Phạm Phạm (范) is the fourth most common Vietnamese name, Vietnamese family name. It may be rendered as ''Fan (surname), Fàn'' in Chinese or ''Beom/Pom/Pem'' (범) in Korean. It is not to be confused with Phan (surname), Phan (潘), another Viet ...

. * From some ancient people in

Champa Champa (Cham language, Cham: ꨌꩌꨛꨩ, چمڤا; ; 占城 or 占婆) was a collection of independent Chams, Cham Polity, polities that extended across the coast of what is present-day Central Vietnam, central and southern Vietnam from ...

(Linyi, 林邑),

Notable people with the surname Fàn (范)

Historical figures

* See House of Fàn, Fàn family or Fàn Clan * Shi Hui, Sui Hui or Fàn Hui (范会), also known as Fàn Wu Zi, Duke of Fàn, Duke of Sui, progenitor of the aristocratic Fàn family and Commander in Chief of the Jin army * Fàn Li (范蠡), advisor to the king of Yue state, chancellor of Qi and ancestor of Fàn Lübing (ancestor of Fàn Zhongyan) * Fàn Lishe, leader of the military-aristocratic Fan Clan who fought during the War of the Clans. See

* Fàn Ju, chancellor of the Qin dynasty * Fàn Kuan, considered among the great master Song artists of the tenth and eleventh centuries *

Chen Fan Chen Fan (90s - 25 October 168), courtesy name Zhongju (), was a Chinese politician of the Eastern Han dynasty. A native of Pingyu, Runan (north of present-day Pingyu County, Henan), Chen served as Grand Commandant () during the reign of E ...

(陳蕃), Grand Commandant during the reign of Emperor Huan and Grand Tutor during the reign of Emperor Ling of the

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

* Fàn Jian (樊建), official of the state of

Shu Han Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu ( zh, t=蜀, p=Shǔ; Sichuanese Pinyin: ''Su'' < Middle Chinese: *''źjowk'' < Eastern Han Chinese: *''dźok''), was a Dynasties in ...

and

Jin dynasty Jin may refer to: States Jìn 晉 * Jin (Chinese state) (晉國), major state of the Zhou dynasty, existing from the 11th century BC to 376 BC * Jin dynasty (266–420) (晉朝), also known as Liang Jin and Sima Jin * Jin (Later Tang precursor) ...

* Fàn Yun (范雲), poet, friend and de facto chancellor of the Southern Qi dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang * Fàn Tai (范泰), military general of the Eastern Jin dynasty, father of Fàn Ye * Fàn Ye (范曄), historian and politician of the Liu Song dynasty, son of Fàn Tai * Fàn Zhen (范縝), philosopher and court official of the Southern Qi dynasty * Fàn Lübing (范履冰), chancellor of the Tang dynasty during the first reign of Emperor Ruizong, ancestor of Fàn Zhongyan * Fàn Dongfen (范冬芬), ancestor of "the Fans of

Huizhou Huizhou ( zh, c= ) is a city in east-central Guangdong Province, China, forty-three miles north of Hong Kong. Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shenzhen and Dongguan to the southwest, Shaoguan to the north, Hey ...

", state bureaucrat of the Tang dynasty, son of Fàn Lübing * Fàn Dongqian (范冬倩), state bureaucrat of the Tang dynasty, son of Fàn Lübing * Fàn Dongchang (范冬昌), state bureaucrat of the Tang dynasty, son of Fàn Lübing * Fàn Sui (范隋), 6th generation grandson of Fan Lübing and 5th generation ancestor of Fàn Zhongyan, county magistrate of

Lishui Lishui (; Lishuinese: ''li⁶ syu³'' ) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It borders Quzhou, Jinhua and Taizhou to the north, Wenzhou to the southeast, and the province of Fujian to ...

during the reign of

Emperor Yizong of Tang Emperor Yizong of Tang (December 28, 833 – August 15, 873), né Li Wen, later changed to Li Cui (), was an emperor of the Tang dynasty of China. He reigned from 859 to 873. Emperor Yizong was the eldest son of Emperor Xuanzong. After Emperor ...

* Fàn Shouyu (范守遇), staff supervisor (判官) serving the Later Liang dynasty, father of Fàn Zhi, * Fàn Zhi (范質), first chancellor of the Song dynasty, Duke of Lu * Fàn Mengli (范夢齡), Fàn Zhongyan's great-grandfather, conferred as Duke of Xu (徐國公) posthumously * Fàn Zanshi (范贊時), Fàn Zhongyan's grandfather, conferred as Duke of Cao (曹國公) and Duke of Tang (唐國公) posthumously * Fàn Yong (范墉), Fàn Zhongyan's father, conferred as Duke of Su (蘇國公) and Duke of Zhou (周國公) posthumously * Fàn Zhongyan (范仲淹), chancellor of the Song dynasty, Duke of Wenzheng, Duke of Chu * Fàn Chunyou (范純佑) (1024—1063), son of Fàn Zhongyan * Fàn Chunren (范純仁) (1027—1101), chancellor of the Song dynasty, prominent member of the conservative faction during the Wang Anshi Reforms, ratified as the Duke of Zhongxuan 忠宣公 posthumously, son of Fàn Zhongyan * Fàn Chunli (范純禮)(1031一1106), chancellor of the Song dynasty, ratified as the Duke of Gongxian 恭獻公 posthumously, son of Fàn Zhongyan * Fàn Chuncui (范純粹) (1046—1117), son of Fàn Zhongyan * Fàn Chengda (范成大), Song dynasty poet, geographer, and court official *

Laurent-Joseph-Marius Imbert Laurent-Joseph-Marius Imbert (Born: 23 March 1796 – Died: 21 September 1839), affectionately known in Korea as Bishop Laurentius Bum Sehyeong () was a Roman Catholic French bishop in Asia. He was most notable for his Christian missionary wor ...

(范世亨), French-born missionary Bishop in Asia

Modern people

* Fan Hanjie (范漢傑), Chinese military general who served during the Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War *

Fan Bai Fan Bai is a researcher and engineer, from General Motors Global R&D, Detroit, MI, who was named Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 2016 for contributions to vehicular networking and mobility modeling. Since ...

, researcher and engineer *

Fan Bingbing Fan Bingbing (, born 16 September 1981) is a Chinese actress. After gaining recognition for the costume drama '' My Fair Princess'' (1998–1999), Fan's breakthrough came with Feng Xiaogang's blockbuster '' Cell Phone'' (2003), which won her th ...

(范冰冰), Chinese actress, older sister of Fan ChengCheng *

Fan Changjiang Fan Changjiang (; 6 October 1909 – 23 October 1970), born Fan Xitian (范希天), was a Chinese journalist, war correspondent, and writer. One of the most famous wartime reporters during World War II, he had become well known for his reporting d ...

(范长江), Chinese journalist *

Fan Changlong Fan Changlong (; born May 1947) is a Chinese retired general in the People's Liberation Army (PLA). He was a Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and formerly served as commander of the Jinan Military Region. Biography Fan was b ...

(范长龙), Vice Chairman of the China Central Military Commission * Fan Chengcheng (范丞丞), Chinese singer and rapper, younger brother of Fan Bingbing. Former member of

Nine Percent Nine Percent (; commonly stylized in all-caps) was a nine-member Chinese boy group formed by the survival show '' Idol Producer'' by iQIYI on April 6, 2018. The group promoted for 18 months since formation. Nine Percent was one of the most po ...

and member of

NEXT NeXT, Inc. (later NeXT Computer, Inc. and NeXT Software, Inc.) was an American technology company headquartered in Redwood City, California that specialized in computer workstations for higher education and business markets, and later develope ...

* Fan Chun Yip (范俊業), Hong Kong footballer * Christine Fan (范瑋琪), Taiwanese singer * Fan Lei (范磊), Chinese-born American musician *

Lingling Fan Lingling Fan is a power engineer who is currently a professor of electrical engineering at the University of South Florida. Fan specializing in the dynamics, system identification, and control theory of electrical grids and electric power conver ...

, Chinese and American power engineer *

Mavis Fan Mavis Fan (; born 27 February 1977) is a Taiwanese singer and actress. Life and career Fan began her singing career in the mid 90s as a pop idol, singing songs catered mostly towards children and young teenagers. Fan was raised only by her mot ...

(范曉萱), Taiwanese singer *

Rita Fan Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai (; ' Hsu; ''born'' Hsu Ching-li; born 20 September 1945) is a senior Hong Kong politician. She was the first President of the Hong Kong SAR Legislative Council from 1998 to 2008 and a member of the Standing Committee of ...

(范徐麗泰), former president of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong * Fan Jie (范洁), Chinese badminton Olympian * Fan Wei (范偉), Chinese film actor * Fan Ruijuan (范瑞娟), Chinese opera singer *

Fan Wanzhang Fan Wanzhang (, 1927 in Qixia, Shandong - August 8, 1952) was a MiG-15 pilot of the People's Republic of China. He was a flying ace during the Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean ...

(范万章)(1927-1952), Chinese pilot *

Fann Wong Fann Woon Fong (born 27 January 1971), known professionally as Fann Wong, is a Singaporean actress, singer, businesswoman and model. She has been referred to as one of MediaCorp's ''Ah Jie'' for being one of the most successful actresses from Sing ...

(范文芳), Singaporean film actress * Zhang Fan (disambiguation), several people *

Fan Zhiyi Fan Zhiyi ( zh, c=范志毅, p=Fàn Zhìyì; born 6 November 1969) is a Chinese coach and former international footballer. He played as a defender for Shanghai Shenhua, Crystal Palace, Dundee, Shanghai COSCO Huili, Cardiff City, Buler Ran ...

(范志毅), Chinese footballer * Fan Enrui (范恩睿), Singaporean historian, writer and poet * Michael Fam Yue Onn (範佑安), Singaporean civil engineer * Huan Cheng Guan (范清渊), Malaysian politician and businessman * Huang Tiong Sii (范长锡), Malaysian politician and businessman

Equivalents in other cultures

Names from other cultures meaning 'bee', just as Fan, are, among others: *Deborah (Hebrew) *Madhukar (Sanskrit) *

Melissa Melissa is a feminine given name. The name comes from the Greek language, Greek word μέλισσα (''mélissa''), "bee", which in turn comes from μέλι (''meli''), "honey". In Hittite language, Hittite, ''melit'' signifies "honey". Meliss ...

(Greek)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * Fan Li: the man who laid a honey-trap with Xi Shi http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sunday/now-and-then/Fan-Li-the-man-who-laid-a-honeytrap-with-Xi-Shi/shdaily.shtml

External links

洛阳千家姓之——范姓
{{surname, Fan Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames