Zhao (; ) is a Chinese-language surname. The name is first 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 ...

'' – the traditional list of all Chinese surnames – because it was the emperor's surname of 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 ...

(960–1279) when the list was compiled. The first line of the poem is 趙錢孫李 (Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li). Zhao may be

romanized In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...

as " Chiu" from the

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 ...

pronunciation, and is romanized in Taiwan and Hong Kong as " Chao" in the

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'' ...

system. It is romanized as Vietnamese family name " Triệu" among the Chinese diaspora in Vietnam. Zhao is cognate to

Korean family name This is a list of Korean surnames, in Hangul alphabetical order. The most common Korean surname (particularly in South Korea) is Kim (Korean name), Kim (), followed by Lee (Korean name), Lee () and Park (Korean surname), Park (). These three sur ...

" Cho" (조) in Korea. The romanization is shared with the much rarer family name Zhào (兆).

Evolution of the Zhao clan

Modern culture

In Lu Xun's novel '' The True Story of Ah Q'', Ah Q said he belonged to the same clan as Mr. Zhao, who was an honored landlord of the village. Mr. Zhao was very angry. He slapped Ah Q's face and said, How could you be named Zhao!—Do you think you are worthy of the name Zhao?''' Since 2015 or earlier, in the Chinese internet, ''Zhao'' became the intimation of the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

and the '''State of Zhao''' became the intimation of China. Similarly, '''The Zhao Family''' refers to the dignitaries of China, and "''The Zhao's Army''" refers to the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

. How could you be named Zhao!''' is popular to satirize the people who are humble but pretend to be powerful. In 2016, the blog writer Program Think set up a

GitHub GitHub () is a Proprietary software, proprietary developer platform that allows developers to create, store, manage, and share their code. It uses Git to provide distributed version control and GitHub itself provides access control, bug trackin ...

project named Zhao. The project collects the relationships among more than 700 people in over 130 families including

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...

, the

general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party The general secretary of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party ( zh, s=中国共产党中央委员会总书记, p=Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Zhōngyāng Wěiyuánhuì Zǒngshūjì) is the leader of the Chinese Communist Part ...

, and many other high level government officials of the Chinese Communist Party. The Cyberspace Administration of China requested GitHub to remove the project. Error status code 451 would be reached if the connection request to the project is from China.

Prominent people with the family name

Historical figures

* Zhao Zheng (

traditional Chinese A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

: 趙政), the first emperor of China, founder of the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng enga ...

, most commonly known as Qin Shi Huang (traditional Chinese: 秦始皇) * Zhao Chengjiao (趙成蟜), the first emperor's half-brother, after the first emperor inherited the throne, he rebelled and was killed by the emperor * Zhao Chou, warlord during the Late Tang dynasty * Zhao Dejun, general of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Later Tang and Later Tang's predecessor state Jin * Zhao Gao, close advisor to emperors during the Qin dynasty. He was one of the most corrupt, villainous, violent and powerful eunuchs in Chinese history * Zhao Guangyi, chancellor of Southern Han * Zhao Jieyu, a consort of Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty * Zhao Kuangyin (趙匡胤) or Emperor Taizu of Song (宋太祖), the founder of the Song dynasty *

Zhao Deyin Zhao Deyin () (died 892), formally the Prince of Huai'an (), was a warlord late in the History of China, Chinese dynasty Tang dynasty, who initially served as a general under the pretender emperor Qin Zongquan. When Qin neared defeat, Zhao declared ...

, warlord late in the Tang dynasty * Zhao Dezhao, second son of Emperor Taizu * Zhao Feiyan, empress of the Western Han dynasty to Emperor Cheng * Zhao Hede, imperial consort to Emperor Cheng of Han sister to Empress Zhao Feiyan * Zhao Kuangyi, brother of Zhao Kuangyin and second emperor of the Song dynasty * Zhao Heng, third emperor of the Song dynasty * Zhao Zhen, fourth emperor of the Song dynasty * Zhao Shu, fifth emperor of the Song dynasty * Zhao Xu, sixth emperor of the Song dynasty * Zhao Xu, seventh emperor of the Song dynasty * Zhao Ji, eighth emperor of the Song dynasty, famous for being a skilled poet, painter, calligrapher, and musician. * Zhao Boju, painter during the Song dynasty * Zhao Yun (

: 趙雲), general of Shu Han during the era of

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 ...

* Zhao Mengfu calligrapher, descendant of the Song imperial family * Zhao Yong calligrapher, son of Zhao Mengfu, descendant of the Song imperial family * Zhao Yiguang, literary figure and author during the Ming dynasty, relative of Zhao Mengfu, descendant of the Song imperial family

Modern figures

* Amanda Zhao Wei, Chinese student murdered in Canada in 2002 * Zhao Baotong (

simplified Chinese Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to: Mathematics Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one that is simpler (usually shorter), according to a well-founded ordering. Examples include: ...

: 赵宝桐) (1928-2003), Chinese Korean War flying ace * Ben Y. Zhao, Professor of Computer Science at University of Chicago * Zhao Benshan (

: 趙本山), comedian/actor/director * Carol Zhao (born 1995), Canadian tennis player * Chloé Zhao (born 1982), Chinese filmmaker * Zhao Dan (

: 趙丹), Chinese actor popular during the golden age of Chinese Cinema * Zhao Erfeng, warlord and historian * Zhao Erxun, governor of Sichuan * Zhao Fuxin (1904–1999), physics professor * Zhao Hongbo (

: 趙宏博), a pairs figure skater * Jack Zhao, Chinese bridge player * Zhao Jiamin (

: 趙嘉敏), Chinese idol singer and former member of the Chinese idol group SNH48 * Zhao Jingmin, UN commander, Chinese major general * Zhao Jingshen (

: 趙景深), novelist * Zhao Jiping (

: 趙季平), composer * Zhao Jiwei, Chinese basketball player * Zhao Lijian, Chinese politician * Zhao Liying, Chinese actress * Zhao Lusi, Chinese actress * Zhao Shuli (

: 趙樹理), novelist * Qing Zhao, electronics scientist * Vincent Zhao (

: 趙文卓), martial artist and actor * Zhao Wei (

: 趙薇,

: 赵薇), actress * Xiran Jay Zhao (born 1997), Chinese-Canadian writer * Zhao Xintong (born 1997), Chinese snooker player * Zhao Yi (

:　趙翼), poet, historian, and critic during the Qing dynasty * Zhao Yiman (

: 赵一曼), Chinese freedom fighter * Zhao Yiqin, Chinese actor * Zhao Yue (

: 趙粵), Chinese singer, member of Chinese idol group SNH48, and member of Chinese girl group BonBon Girls 303 * Zhao Yongsheng, race walker * Zhao Yun, Hong Kong lawyer * Zhao Zhiqian (

:　趙之謙), Qing dynasty calligrapher * Zhao Ziyang (

: 趙紫陽,

: 赵紫阳), former

and

premier of China The premier of China, officially the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, is the head of government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and leader of the State Council. This post was established in 1911 near the e ...

* Zhao Zong-Yuan, Chinese-Australian

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

grandmaster * Elaine L. Chao (

: 趙小蘭), American politician, served as the 24th United States secretary of labor * Rosalind Chao (

: 趙家玲), American actress * Sam Chu Lin (

: 趙帝恩), American journalist * Yuen Ren Chao (

: 趙元任), Chinese linguist * Cecil Chao (

: 趙世曾), Hong Kong entrepreneur * Chao Chuan (

: 趙傳), Taiwanese pop singer * Mark Chao (

: 趙又廷), Taiwanese actor, singer and model * Cindy Chao (

: 趙心綺), Taiwanese jewellery designer * Bondy Chiu (

: 趙學而), Hong Kong singer and actress * Angie Chiu (

: 趙雅芝), Hong Kong actress, third runner up in the 1973 Miss Hong Kong pageant * Bryan Chiu, retired Canadian professional football player; played Centre for the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

in the CFL from 1997 to 2010 * Baldwin Chiu (

: 趙保榮) as Only Won, hip hop artist, actor, producer, martial artist, national White House engineering spokesperson * Kenny Chiu (

: 趙錦榮), Canadian politician, Member of Parliament for Steveston—Richmond East * Keina Chiu (趙慧奈; born 1995), Japanese-Chinese television news journalist * Judy Chu (

: 趙美心), American politician and educator *

Suisheng Zhao Suisheng Zhao (; born September 17, 1954) is a Chinese-American Political science, political scientist currently serving as professor of Chinese politics and Chinese foreign policy, foreign policy at the University of Denver, University of Denver ...

, Chinese political scientist

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * * *
"赵氏"撰写《红楼梦》
* Frederic, Louis (2002). "Japan Encyclopedia." Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. * Rimer, J. Thomas and Yamazaki Masakazu trans. (1984). "On the Art of the Nō Drama: The Major Treatises of Zeami." Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. * Teshima, Ikuro (1973). The Ancient Refugees From Religious Persecution in Japan: The Tribe of Hada – Their Religious and Cultural Influence

* Shinsen Shōjiroku "出自秦始皇帝三世孫孝武王也" * McCullough, William H. (1999). "The capital and its society". The Cambridge History of Japan, Volume 2: Heian Japan. Cambridge University Press. p. 98. . * McCullough, William H. (1999). "The capital and its society". The Cambridge History of Japan, Volume 2: Heian Japan. Cambridge University Press. p. 97–98. . * Ben Ami-Shillony, The Jews and the Japanese: The Successful Outsiders, pp. 135–7 (Rutland, VT: Tuttle, 1991)

External links

{{surname, Zhao Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames