Jì is the

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

romanization of the

Chinese surname Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicization, 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, ...

written in

Chinese character Chinese characters are logographs used to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represent the only on ...

. It is romanized as Chi in

Wade–Giles Wade–Giles ( ) is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from the system produced by Thomas Francis Wade during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert Giles's '' A Chinese–English Dictionary'' ...

, and Kei in

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

. Ji is the 294th most common surname in China, with a population of 160,000. It is listed 316th in the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

classic text A classic is a book accepted as being exemplary or particularly noteworthy. What makes a book "classic" is a concern that has occurred to various authors ranging from Italo Calvino to Mark Twain and the related questions of "Why Read the Cl ...

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 ...

''.

Demographics

As of 2008, Ji 冀 is the 294th most common surname in China, shared by 160,000 people, or 0.013% of the Chinese population. It is concentrated in the provinces of

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. Shanxi has the highest number of people with the surname, accounting for 29% of the total.

Origins

According to tradition, there are three main origins of the Ji 冀 surname: 1. According to the

text '' Lushi'',

King Wu of Zhou King Wu of Zhou (; died ), personal name Ji Fa, was the founding king of the Chinese Zhou dynasty. The chronology of his reign is disputed but is generally thought to have begun around 1046 BCE and ended with his death three years later. Ki ...

(reigned 1046–1043 BC) enfeoffed a descendant of

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 ...

at the state of Ji 冀, located in present-day Jishan or Anze County, Shanxi province. During 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 ...

, Ji was conquered by the neighbouring state of Jin, a major power of the time. The people of Ji subsequently adopted the name of their former state as their surname. 2. After Jin conquered the state of Ji, the Duke of Jin enfeoffed his minister

Xi Rui Xi is the 14th letter of the Greek alphabet. Xi may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Xi'' (alternate reality game), a console-based game * Xi, Japanese name for the video game '' Devil Dice'' * '' Saw XI'', an upcoming film in the ''Saw'' ...

( 郤芮, died 636 BC) at Ji, Xi Rui was subsequently also called Ji Rui, and his descendants adopted the name of his fief as their surname. 3. A third origin of the Ji surname is the

state of Song Song was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty with its capital at Shangqiu. The state was founded soon after King Wu of Zhou conquered the Shang dynasty to establish the Zhou dynasty in 1046 BC. It was conquered by the state of ...

of 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 ...

. A branch of the ruling house of Song adopted Ji as their surname, and this source of Ji is a branch of Zi, the ancestral name of the lords of Song.

Notable people

Ji Yuanheng Ji may refer to: Names and titles * Ji (surname), the pinyin romanization of several distinct Chinese surnames * Ji (Korean name), a Korean surname and element in given names (including lists of people with the name) * -ji, an honorific used a ...

( 冀元亨; 1482–1521),

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

official *

Ji Ruxi Ji may refer to: Names and titles * Ji (surname), the pinyin romanization of several distinct Chinese surnames * Ji (Korean name), a Korean surname and element in given names (including lists of people with the name) * -ji, an honorific used as ...

( 冀如錫; 1613–1686),

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

Minister of War * The Ji brothers of Shanxi: ** Ji Chaoding (冀朝鼎; 1903–1963), economist **

Chao-Li Chi Chao-Li Chi (; April 5, 1927 – October 16, 2010) was a Chinese-American actor and dancer who worked extensively in American television, including his best known role as Chao-Li, the faithful majordomo and chauffeur of Jane Wyman's character in ...

(冀朝理; 1927–2010), Chinese-American actor ** Ji Chaozhu (冀朝铸; 1929–2020), Chinese ambassador to the UK and

Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations An under-secretary-general of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the secretary-general for a renewable term of four years. Under ...

Ji Chunguang Ji may refer to: Names and titles * Ji (surname), the pinyin romanization of several distinct Chinese surnames * Ji (Korean name), a Korean surname and element in given names (including lists of people with the name) * -ji, an honorific used a ...

( 冀春光; 1918–2013), Vice Governor of

Qinghai Qinghai is an inland Provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. It is the largest provinces of China, province of China (excluding autonomous regions) by area and has the third smallest population. Its capital and largest city is Xin ...

province * Ji Chuntang ( 冀纯堂; born 1953), former mayor of

Shijiazhuang Shijiazhuang; Mandarin: ; formerly known as Shimen and romanized as Shihkiachwang is the capital and most populous city of China's Hebei Province. A prefecture-level city southwest of Beijing, it administers eight districts, three county-le ...

* Ji Wenlin (冀文林; born 1966), former Vice Governor of

Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...

province

References

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