Jiang (, also romanized Gang, Geung, Gung, Chiang, Kang, Keung, Keong, Kiang) is one of the oldest

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, ...

s, being one of the original ''xing'' (姓) surnames. It was one of the " Eight Great ''Xing''s of High Antiquity" ( 上古八大姓), along with Jī (姬), Yáo (姚), Yíng (嬴), Sì (姒), Yún (妘), Guī (媯) and Rèn (妊), though some sources quote Jí (姞) as the last one instead of Rèn. Of these ''xing'', only Jiang and Yao have survived in their original form to modern days as frequently occurring surnames. It is the 32nd surname listed 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 ...

-era '' Hundred Family Surnames'' poem. It is the 60th most common surname in China (2007), roughly 0.34% of the

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

population. The Lu clan of Fanyang stem from this surname before taking on the Lu (盧) surname. Derivative surnames of Jiang include Zhang, Lü, Qiu, and Shen.People's Daily Online – Chinese surname history: Shen
/ref> The surname's use has various origins: *In the Qi (state), Jiang Ziya's descendants had the surname Jiang (姜). *In the Qi (state), those with the surname Huan ( 桓) changed it to Jiang (姜). * Chinese minority members of the population such as the Dong people, Tujia people, Yao people took the surname Jiang (姜). *During the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

Mongols 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 o ...

were given the surname Jiang (姜). *During the

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 ...

, Russians, or the Eluosizu people, were given the surname Jiang (姜). Additionally, it is the most common Hanja that represents the Korean surname Kang.

Notable people named 姜

* Yan Emperor (炎帝), legendary ancient Chinese ruler in pre-dynastic era; also known as Shennong; the origin of surname Jiang; ancestral to Chinese culture and people; see Descendants of Yan and Huang (炎黄子孙); * Jiang Ziya (姜子牙), strategist and noble of Zhou dynasty; descendant of Yan Emperor (11th century BC) * Jiang Xiaobai (姜小白), Duke Huan of Qi (齐桓公); the head of state of the most prominent Hegemon Zhou dynasty in the Five Hegemons era (770–476 BC) * Jiang Wei (姜维), general of the state of Shu during the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

period of China (220–280 AD) * Jiang Gongfu (姜公辅), 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 ...

(618–907 AD) * Jiang Kui (姜夔), poet, composer, poetry theorist and calligrapher of the

(960–1279 AD) * Jiang Lifu (姜立夫), Chinese mathematician and educator widely regarded as the Father of modern Chinese mathematics *Jiang Boju (姜伯驹), Chinese mathematician specializes in

topology Topology (from the Greek language, Greek words , and ) is the branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of a Mathematical object, geometric object that are preserved under Continuous function, continuous Deformation theory, deformat ...

; expanded Nielsen theory; professor and the first president of School of Mathematical Sciences at

Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...

* Jiang Chunyun (姜春云), former Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China * Jiang Yu (姜瑜), diplomat of the People's Republic of China * Jiang Wen (姜文), actor and director (brother of Jiang Wu) * Jiang Wu (姜武), actor (brother of Jiang Wen) * Ted Chiang (姜峯楠), American science-fiction author * David Chiang (姜大衛), Hong Kong actor and martial artist *Chiang Chang-nien (姜昌年), a Hong Kong actor known by the stage name Paul Chun (秦沛) who is an older brother of another Hong Kong actor David Chiang * Keung To (), a Hong Kong singer from boy group Mirror

Derivative surnames

* Zha (surname) (查)

References

{{surname Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames