Jí is the Mandarin

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 Zik 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 listed 275th 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 ...

''. It is not among the 300 most common surnames in China.

Origin

According to the '' Zuo Zhuan'' and the

encyclopedia '' Tongzhi'', the surname Ji 籍 originated from Bo Yan ( 伯黡), a chief minister of the state of Jin, a major power 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 ...

. Boyan was in charge of government records, and was commonly referred to as Ji Yan (''ji'' 籍 means record). His descendants adopted Ji as their surname. During the Chu–Han Contention, many people surnamed Ji 籍 changed their surname to Xi 席 because of naming taboo of Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, whose given name was Ji 籍.

Notable people

*Bo Yan (伯黡) or Ji Yan, chief minister of the state of Jin *Ji Yan or Ji You ( 籍偃, fl. 6th century BC), official serving under Duke Dao of Jin *Ji Tan ( 籍谈, fl. 6th century BC), son of Ji You, official serving under Duke Ping of Jin *Ji Qin ( 籍秦, fl. 6th century BC), a younger son of Ji You, official serving under Duke Qing of Jin * Ji Ru (籍孺), Western Han eunuch *Ji Zhongyin ( 籍忠寅; 1877–1930),

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 ...

and

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

politician * Ji Xiaocheng (籍孝诚; 1923–2019), paediatrician, introduced perinatal medicine to China

References

{{surname Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames