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 Gwai 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 142nd most common surname in China, with a population of 960,000. It is listed the 134th 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 ''

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 ...

''.

Etymology

In ancient usage, the characters of '' meng'' (孟), '' zhong'' (仲), '' shu'' (叔) and ''ji'' (季) were used to denote the first, second, third and fourth eldest sons in a family. The Chinese character Ji 季 is composed of two parts: 禾 (grain) and 子 (son), and originally means "young grain". Later it acquired the meaning of "the youngest", and was frequently used in the name or title of the youngest son (or daughter) of a family. It is from this usage that the character became a surname. According to analysis based on the early 11th-century dictionary ''

Guangyun The ''Guangyun'' (''Kuang-yun''; ) is a Chinese rhyme dictionary that was compiled from 1007 to 1008 under the patronage of Emperor Zhenzong of Song. Its full name was ''Dà Sòng chóngxiū guǎngyùn'' (, literally "Great Song revised and ...

'', in

Middle Chinese Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese language, Chinese recorded in the ''Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expande ...

the character was pronounced wi

Demographics

As of 2008, Ji 季 is the 142nd most common surname in China, shared by 960,000 people, or 0.077% of the Chinese population. It is concentrated in

East China East China () is a geographical region in the People’s Republic of China, mainly consisting of seven province-level administrative divisions, namely the provinces (from north to south) Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, ...

, including

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

, and

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. Jiangsu province alone accounts for 44% of the people surnamed Ji 季, followed by Zhejiang with 10%.

Origins

The main origin of the Ji 季 surname is the

state of Lu Lu (; 249 BC) was a vassal state during the Zhou dynasty of ancient China located around modern Shandong. Founded in the 11th century BC, its rulers were from a cadet branch of the House of Ji () that ruled the Zhou dynasty. The f ...

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 ...

of ancient China. Prince You was commonly called

Ji You 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 ...

(季友) as he was the youngest son of

Duke Huan of Lu Duke Huan of Lu (, died 14 April 694 BC), personal name Ji Yun or Ji Gui, was a ruler of the Lu state, reigning from 711 to 694 BC. Early life Duke Huan was the son of Duke Hui of Lu and his main wife Zhong Zi (仲子), daughter of Duke Wu of ...

. After the death of his older brother Duke Zhuang of Lu, Ji You helped Duke Zhuang's son to ascend the throne as

Duke Xi of Lu Duke Xi of Lu (; died 17 November 627 BC), personal name Ji Shen, was a ruler of Lu state, reigning from 659 BC to 627 BC. His father was Duke Zhuang. After Duke Xi died in 627 BC, his son, Duke Wen, succeeded him to the throne. Among the ruler ...

, and he became Duke Xi's chief minister. He was the founding patriarch of the Jisun clan, the most powerful of the

Three Huan The Three Huan ({{zh, c=三桓, p=Sān Huán) refers to three Chinese aristocratic clans, all descendants of Duke Huan of Lu, in the State of Lu, which dominated the government affairs, displacing the power of the dukes, for nearly three centur ...

clans that dominated the politics of Lu for centuries to come. His descendants adopted Jisun, which was later shortened to Ji, as their surname. This source of Ji 季 is a branch of Ji 姬, the ancestral surname of the dukes of Lu. A second origin of the Ji surname was

Jilian Jilian () was the first recorded ruler of the ancient Chinese state that was later known as Chu. He adopted the clan name Mi () and was the founder of the House of Mi that ruled Chu for over eight centuries. Ancestry According to legends record ...

(季連), the first recorded ruler of the

state of Chu Chu (, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was an Ancient Chinese states, ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BC. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou heartland and lasted ...

. This origin of Ji is a branch of Mi 芈, the royal surname of Chu. Several other states 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 ...

, such as Qi and Wei, also had noble lineages that adopted Ji 季 as their surname.

Later adoption

During the Ming and

Qing 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 ...

dynasties, several

Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...

and

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 ...

clans adopted the Ji surname, and many Ji-surnamed people in

Northeast China Northeast China () is a geographical region of China, consisting officially of three provinces Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The heartland of the region is the Northeast China Plain, the largest plain in China with an area of over . The regi ...

are from this origin.

Notable people

* Ji You or Ji Chengzi ( 季成子; died 644 BC), Chief Minister of the

* Jisun Xingfu or Ji Wenzi ( 季文子; died 568 BC), grandson of Ji You, Chief Minister of Lu *

Ji Bu Ji Bu (; 200s BC) was a Chinese military general from late Qin dynasty, Qin to the early Western Han dynasty. He was from Xiaxiang (下相; present-day Sucheng District, Suqian, Jiangsu). He previously served under Xiang Yu, a warlord who engag ...

(季布; 3rd century BC), a top general of

Xiang Yu Xiang Yu (), born Xiang Ji, was a Chinese warlord who founded and led the short-lived ancient Chinese states, kingdom-state of Western Chu during the interregnum period between the Qin dynasty, Qin and Han dynasty, Han dynasties of China, d ...

and later the

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 ...

* Ji Zhenyi ( 季振宜; 1630–?),

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 ...

official, writer, and collector * Ji Zhichang ( 季芝昌; 1791–1860), Qing dynasty minister, general, and Governor 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 ...

province * Ji Yunqing ( 季云卿; 1868–1939), Shanghai gangster assassinated for collaborating with the Japanese during WWII *

Ji Xianlin Ji Xianlin (; August 6, 1911 – July 11, 2009) was a Chinese Indologist, linguist, paleographer, historian and writer who has been honored by the governments of both India and China. Ji was proficient in many languages including Chinese, San ...

(季羨林; 1911–2009), prominent linguist,

Indologist Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is ...

, palaeographer, and historian * Ji Yunshi (季允石; born 1945), former governor of

and

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 ...

provinces * Ji Jianye (季建业; born 1957), former mayor of

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

* Yun-Fei Ji or Ji Yunfei (季云飞; born 1963), painter * Ji Mingyi (季铭义; born 1980), football player * Timothy Kwai or Ji Tinggang ( 季霆剛; born 1983), Hong Kong politician * Ji Xiaobing (季肖冰; born 1987), actor * Ji Liping (季丽萍; born 1988), Olympic swimmer * Ji Xiaoxuan (季骁宣; born 1993), football player * Ji Jiafu (季加孚; born 1959), surgical oncologist

References

{{surname Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames