Qiu is an

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

n surname (). This surname is common in mainland China, and is also one of the most influential surnames in

Taiwan 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 ...

, as well as the

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

and

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

provinces in the

South China South China ( zh, s=, p=Huá'nán, j=jyut6 naam4) is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is ...

region. As well as being a surname, the character also means "mound, dune, or hill". A less common surname is , pronounced the same in

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 ...

but differently 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 ...

and

Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...

(). also appears in Korea, where they may be transliterated as: * 구 (

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

Hangul The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. In North Korea, the alphabet is known as (), and in South Korea, it is known as (). The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs ...

) * Koo, Gu, Ku (

Revised Romanization Revised Romanization of Korean () is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea. It was developed by the National Academy of the Korean Language from 1995 and was released to the public on 7 July 2000 by South Korea's Mi ...

). The surname also appears in the Philippines from immigrants from the south of China. It was anglicized as: * Cu or Kuh (in Tagalog) ranks 151st in 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 ...

'', and is very common in

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

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 ...

Wuxing Wuxing may refer to: Places in China Counties and districts *Huzhou, formerly Wuxing County, Zhejiang, China *Wuxing District (吴兴区), central district of Huzhou Subdistricts (五星街道) * Wuxing Subdistrict, Mudanjiang, in Dong'an Distr ...

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 ...

. is common with

Taiwanese aboriginal Taiwanese indigenous peoples, formerly called Taiwanese aborigines, are the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, with the nationally recognized subgroups numbering about 600,303 or 3% of the Geography of Taiwan, island's population. This total is incr ...

s, but is otherwise rare, ranking 237th. is a very rare surname in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, with census records noting a distribution of less than 2000 with the name.

History

The surname has several historical origins: * In 1046 BC, King Wu 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 ...

overthrew the

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou d ...

with the help of his adviser,

Jiang Ziya Jiang Ziya ( century BC – 11th century BC), also known by several other names, also known by his posthumous name as the Duke Tai of Qi, was the founding monarch of the Qi state. He was a military general and strategist who as ...

. Jiang's clan later settled in the

Fufeng County Fufeng County () is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Baoji, in the west-central part of Shaanxi Province, China. The county lies in the fertile Guanzhong Plain on the north bank of the Wei River between Xi'an, to ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

, where they took the name of the then-capital, Qiu, as their surname. Their descendants bore this surname until the reign of the

Yongzheng Emperor The Yongzheng Emperor (13 December 1678 – 8 October 1735), also known by his temple name Emperor Shizong of Qing, personal name Yinzhen, was the fourth List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the third Qing em ...

(1677–1735) in 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 ...

, when some adopted the written form to distinguish it from the name of Confucius (). However, the change was mostly adopted by Hokkiens while the Hakkas generally refused. Many Hakkas who refused the change were then prosecuted by the Qing government. It was only after the fall of the Qing dynasty and establishment of the

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 ...

in 1912, that some members of the Qiu () family reverted to their ancient surname Qiu ()Chung, Y.N.(2003). About Chinese Surnames. Available: http://www.asiawind.com/forums/read.php?f=1&i=4672&t=4601&v=f * In the early Zhou dynasty, King Wu awarded

Cao Xie Cao Xie ( third century) was a prince in the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was a son of Cao Pi, the first emperor of Wei. His mother, whose maiden family name was Li (李), was a concubine of Cao Pi holding the rank ...

, the descendant of

Zhuanxu Zhuanxu (), also known as Gaoyang (), was a mythological emperor of ancient China. In the traditional account recorded by Sima Qian, Zhuanxu was a grandson of the Yellow Emperor. Association with Four Barbarians At the age of ten with Shao ...

, the land of Zhu (now it is located southeast part of Qufu, Shandong Province) and established a state there. 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 ...

, there was a senior official in the state named Qiu Ruo, and his descendants have taken Qiu as their surname since then. * An official named

Zuo Qiuming Zuo Qiuming, Zuoqiu Ming or Qiu Ming (556 – 451 BCEZhou, Jixu (May 2011"Confucius and Lao Zi" Their Differing Social Foundations and Cultures ''Sino-Platonic Papers'' 211. p. 2 or 502 – 422 BCE) was a Chinese historian who was a c ...

in the

Lu state 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 fi ...

in the Spring and Autumn period lived in Zuo Qiu (now in Dingtao in southern Shandong). And his descendants took the last part of the place name as their surname. In the pre- Qin period (21st century-221 BC), most of the Qiu families lived in the Shandong area. After the Qin and Han dynasties, the Qiu families gradually moved to the southern areas. And most of them were big families to the south of the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

. The Qiu families entered Taiwan in the early Qing dynasty and Qiu has become one of the popular surnames in the country. * Another sect came from the Qiudun () clan of the

Wuhuan The Wuhuan (, < Eastern Han Chinese: *''ʔɑ-ɣuɑn'', <

Southern and Northern Dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...

* Zhou dynasty's Ji (, Kei, Ki, Hi) clan changed their surname to Qiu () in the early Zhou dynasty.

Notable people with the surname

Qiu Chuji Qiu Chuji (10 February 1148– 21 August 1227), courtesy name Tongmi (通密), also known by his Taoist name Master Changchun, was a renowned Taoist master from late Southern Song/ Jin dynasty and a famous disciple of Wang Chongyang, the foun ...

(), Chinese Daoist known for his journey from China to Persia *

Qiu Le Qiu Le (born 26 February 1983) is a Chinese weightlifter. Qiu participated in the men's -62 kg class at the 2006 World Weightlifting Championships and won the gold medal, snatching 140 kg and jerking an additional 168 kg for a ...

(), Chinese weightlifter * Raymond Yau (), (b. 1978), Chinese-American photographer, video director, and DJ *

Yau Kin Wai Yau Kin Wai (; born 4 January 1973) is a Hong Kong former professional footballer who played as a defender. Club career Yau had played for Hong Kong First Division League club South China for more than 10 years and is regarded as one of the ...

(), Hong Kong football player *

Alan Yau Alan Yau () (born 11 November 1962) is a Hong Kong-born British restaurateur who founded the Wagamama chain in the United Kingdom. Of Hakka ethnicity, he was born in Sha Tau Kok, Hong Kong and moved to King's Lynn, Norfolk in 1975 with his fam ...

(), founder of Wagamama, Michelin Star awarded

Yauatcha Yauatcha is a Chinese restaurant in Broadwick Street, Soho, London, England, specialising in dim sum. The restaurant was created in 2004 by Alan Yau, who previously created the Japanese Wagamama and Thai Busaba Eathai restaurant chains a ...

and

Hakkasan Hakkasan is a Cantonese restaurant originating in London with 12 locations across the world. The restaurant was founded in 2001 by Alan Yau, who was also behind the Wagamama Japanese restaurants and later the Yauatcha restaurant, also in Lo ...

and an English restaurateur * Anna Yau (b. 1977), Hong Kong radio DJ, actress and host *

Thaksin Shinawatra Thaksin Shinawatra (, ; born 26 July 1949) is a Thai businessman and politician who was the 23rd prime minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006. Since 2009 he has also been a citizen of Montenegro. Thaksin founded the mobile phone operator A ...

() (b. 1949), Thai businessman, politician and 23th Prime Minister of Thailand *

Yingluck Shinawatra Yingluck Shinawatra (, , ; born 21 June 1967) is a Thai businesswoman, politician and a member of the Pheu Thai Party who was the 28th prime minister of Thailand from 2011 to 2014. Yingluck was Thailand's first female prime minister and its yo ...

() (b. 1967), Thai businesswoman, politician and 28th Prime Minister of Thailand, younger sister of Thaksin Shinawatra *

Panthongtae Shinawatra Panthongtae Shinawatra (; ; nicknamed ''Oak''; born 2 December 1979) is a Thai businessman and the only son of former List of Prime Ministers of Thailand, prime minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra. Early life and education Panthongtae was ad ...

() (b. 1979), Thai businessman, founder of

Voice TV Voice TV is a Thai television channel, notable for its liberal (Except for one news program hosted by Nattakorn Devakula) and pro-Thaksin stance and political-centric analysis. It is broadcast via ''digital terrestrial television'' (from 2014 unt ...

, son of Thaksin Shinawatra * Paethongtarn Shinawatra () (b. 1986), Thai businesswoman, Chief Adviser to Pheu Thai for participation and innovation, politician and 31st Prime Minister of Thailand, daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra *

Shing-Tung Yau Shing-Tung Yau (; ; born April 4, 1949) is a Chinese-American mathematician. He is the director of the Yau Mathematical Sciences Center at Tsinghua University and professor emeritus at Harvard University. Until 2022, Yau was the William Caspar ...

() (b. 1949), a Chinese-American mathematician

邱

Chiu Chih-wei Chiu Chih-wei (; born 24 July 1972) is a Taiwanese politician and a member of the Legislative Yuan. Of Hakka descent, he is a member of the Democratic Progressive Party. He served as Kaohsiung's chief of bureau of civil affairs between 2007 and ...

(), Member of the

Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan () is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a ...

Chiu Ching-chun Chiu Ching-chun (; born 8 December 1949) is a Taiwanese politician. He was the Magistrate of Hsinchu County since 20 December 2009 until 25 December 2018. Education Chiu obtained his bachelor's degree from Minghsin University of Science and Tec ...

(), Magistrate of

Hsinchu County Hsinchu is a County (Taiwan), county in Regions of Taiwan, north-western Taiwan. The population of the county is mainly Hakka people, Hakka; with a Taiwanese aboriginal minority in the southeastern part of the county. Zhubei is the county seat ...

Chiu Chuang-huan Chiu Chuang-huan (; 25 July 1925 – 2 July 2020) was a Taiwanese politician. He was the Vice Premier from 1981 to 1984. Born in Changhua, Chiu was of Hakka ancestry from Raoping, Chaozhou, Guangdong, China China, officially the Peo ...

(1925–2020), President of

Examination Yuan The Examination Yuan is the civil service commission branch in charge of validating the qualification of civil servants of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). It has a president, a vice president, and seven to nine members, all o ...

(1993–1996) * Paul Chiu (born 1942), Vice Premier of the

(2008–2009) * Chiu Yi (; Qiu Yi), Taiwanese legislator * George Hiew Vun Zin (; Qiu Wenzheng), Malaysian politician * Hiew King Cheu (; Qiu Qingzhou), Malaysian politician *

Leslie Khoo Kwee Hock Leslie Khoo Kwee Hock (; born ) is a criminal from Singapore who was convicted of the murder of his Chinese girlfriend Cui Yajie (), with whom he had an extra-marital affair. Khoo, who had previously been criminally convicted for cheating and f ...

( Qiu Guifu), Singaporean convicted murderer *

Khoo Teck Puat Tan Sri Khoo Teck Puat (; 13 January 1917 – 21 February 2004) was a banker and hotel owner, who, with an estimated fortune of S$4.3 billion (US$3,195,953,500), was the wealthiest man in Singapore at one point. He owned the Goodwood Gr ...

(; Qiu Deba), Singaporean Chinese businessman * Qiu Dahong (), Chinese coastal and offshore engineer * Qiu Hongmei (), Chinese weightlifter * Qiu Hongxia (), Chinese weightlifter * Qiu Jun (), Chinese go player *

Qiu Miaojin Qiu Miaojin (; 29 May 1969 – 25 June 1995), also romanized as Chiu Miao-chin, was a Taiwanese novelist. She is best known for her 1994 novel '' Notes of a Crocodile''. Qiu's works are "frequently cited as classics", and her unapologeticall ...

(), Taiwanese lesbian author *

Qiu Wei Qiu Wei (, 694–789? was a Chinese poet during the Tang dynasty, with one of his poems being included in the famous anthology ''Three Hundred Tang Poems''. Poetry Qiu Wei's poetic career coincided with the major flourishing of the Tang poetry s ...

(), Tang dynasty poet. *

Qiu Zhijie Qiu Zhijie (邱志杰; born 1969) is a contemporary Chinese people, Chinese artist who works primarily in video and photography. Overall, Qiu's work suggests the struggle between the forces of destiny and self-assertion. Other common themes ar ...

(), Chinese visual artist * Benny Yau (), Canadian television personality *

Chingmy Yau Chingmy Yau Suk-zing (born 16 May 1968) is a former Hong Kong actress. A sex symbol during the golden age of Hong Kong cinema in the 1990s, Yau is known for films such as '' Royal Tramp'' (1992), '' Naked Killer'' (1992) and '' Hold You Tight ...

(; Qiu Shuzhen), Hong Kong actress *

Herman Yau Herman Yau Lai-to (; born 13 July 1961) is a Hong Kong people, Hong Kong film director, screenwriter and cinematographer. Filmography As director * 1987: ''No Regret'' – Director * 1991: ''Don't Fool Me'' – Director * 1992: ''Best of the ...

(; Qiu Litao), Hong Kong film director * David Chiu (邱信福), Taiwanese American politician * Qiu Shaoyun (), Chinese

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

hero in the 1950s * Qiu Xinyi (), Taiwanese idol singer based in Shanghai and member of female idol group

SNH48 SNH48 is a Chinese idol girl group based in Shanghai. Following AKB48's creator Yasushi Akimoto's concept of "idols you can meet", the group features over 200 female members around the age of 20 (15 to 30) across SNH48 and all its sister grou ...

秋

Qiu Jin Qiu Jin (; 8November 187515July 1907) was a Chinese revolutionary, feminist, and writer. Qiu was executed after a failed uprising against the Qing dynasty and is considered a national heroine in China and a martyr of republicanism and feminism ...

(), Chinese revolutionary

Unknown

John Yau John Yau (born June 5, 1950) is an American poet and critic who lives in New York City. He received his B.A. from Bard College in 1972 and his M.F.A. from Brooklyn College in 1978. He has published over 50 books of poetry, artists' books, ficti ...

(b. 1950), an American poet

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qiu (Surname) Chinese-language surnames Multiple Chinese surnames