Qu () is a Chinese surname. It also transliterated as Chu in Wade–Giles and Wat 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 ...

. It is also transliterated as Qū in

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' ...

. The surname Qu (屈) is listed 124th on the famous

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 ...

book of common Chinese surnames, ''

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 ...

'' (), contained in the verse 熊紀舒屈 ( Xiong, Ji, Shu, Qu).

History

The origin of the Qu ( 屈) surname is from the

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

( 湖北) region."屈姓起源湖北" from Wat Surname History Sheet, Xuanyuan Temple
轩辕庙
in Huangling County,

Yan'an Yan'an; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi Province of China, province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several c ...

City,

Shaanxi Province Shaanxi is a 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 the west. Shaanxi ...

, China. Historically, the Hubei region was part 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 ...

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 Chinese history. The King Wu of State of Chu awarded his son Xia with the Qu Yi as feud to recognize his outstanding service to the court of Chu. The people called Xia "Qu Xia" and the offspring of Xia adopted Qu as their surname. The royal family of State of Chu was descendants 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 grandson of Emperor Huangdi (i.e. Yellow Emperor). Therefore, Qu is also the descendant of Emperor Huangdi. During the reign of the

Northern Wei dynasty Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei ( zh, c=北魏, p=Běi Wèi), Tuoba Wei ( zh, c=拓跋魏, p=Tuòbá Wèi), Yuan Wei ( zh, c=元魏, p=Yuán Wèi) and Later Wei ( zh, t=後魏, p=Hòu Wèi), was an imperial dynasty of Chi ...

, the people with last name of Qutu ( 屈突) adopted Qu as their surname. The most famous individual with surname Qu, is

Qu Yuan Qu Yuan ( – 278 BC) was a Chinese poet and aristocrat in the State of Chu during the Warring States period. He is known for his patriotism and contributions to classical poetry and verses, especially through the poems of the '' ...

, the patriotic poet of the State of Chu in the

Warring States period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...

of ancient Chinese history. He is known for his patriotism and contributions to classical poetry and verses, especially through the poems of the '' Chu Ci'' () and '' Li Sao'' () anthology. His works is still widely read by many people till this very day. On May 5 of every year

dragon boat races A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft originating from the Pearl River Delta region of China's southern Guangdong Province. These were made of teak, but in other parts of China different kinds of wood are used. It is one of a family of t ...

are held to celebrate the Duanwu Festival across the country and in communities across the world in honor of Qu Yuan.

Notable people

Notable people with the surname Qu/Wat include: *Historical period (pre-20th century): **

( 屈原; 340–278 BC), Chinese poet and minister of Chu ** Qu Ding (屈鼎; ca.1023–ca. 1056), Chinese master painter of the Song dynasty ** Qu Dajun ( 屈大均; 1630–1696), Chinese great litterateur of late-Ming and early-Qing dynasty ** Wat Ngong (屈亞昂;1785–1867), Chinese Protestant convert, evangelist and writer ** Qu Xia ( 屈瑕, ? – 699 AD) ** Qu Yijiu ( 屈宜臼, ? – ?) ** Qu Wan ( 屈完, ? – ?) *Modern period (20th century and later): ** Qu Yingguang (屈映光; 1883–1973), Chinese politician ** Qu Wu ( 屈武; 1898–1992), Chinese politician ** Qu Bochuan ( 屈伯川; 1909–1997), Chinese scholar and educator in China, and principal founder of the Dalian University of Technology **

Teresa Wat Teresa Wat (, born 1949 or 1950) is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2013 British Columbia general election, 2013 provincial election. She currently represents the electoral district o ...

(屈潔冰; born 1949 or 1950), Canadian politician ** Methodius Qu Ailin (屈蔼林; born 1961), Chinese Roman Catholic bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Hunan, China ** Qu Dongyu (屈冬玉; born 1963), Chinese biologist who is the current Director General of the UN specialized agency Food and Agriculture Organization ** Qu Zhongheng ( 屈中恆, 1967 – ?) Taiwanese actor ** Joey Wat (屈翠容; born 1971), Chinese CEO of Yum China and KFC China ** Qu Chuxiao (屈楚萧; born 1994), Chinese actor

References

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

History

Notable people

See also

References