Chinese surname history: Qiu

Qiu is one of the four popular surnames in China; it is also one of the most influential ones in Sichuan, Fujian and Taiwan provinces as well as in the South China region, reports the overseas edition of People¡¯s Daily on Thursday.

Four sources for Qiu are found in the country. According to historical records, surname Qiu was originated from Jiang family. During early West Zhou (11th century to 771 BC), Zhou Wu Wang defeated the Shang Dynasty and established the West Zhou Dynasty with the help of Jiang Ziya. Jiang was awarded the land of Qi with the kingdom capital at Yingqiu (now in the area of Lingzi, Shandong Province). The descendents of Jiang Ziya bear the last name of the capital Qiu. For a long period of time, the Qiu family used the surname until Yongzheng¡¯s reign (1677-1735) in Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). To evade the name of Confucian, the Chinese character¡¯s writing form has been changed to the present one.

Another source of Qiu was originated from Cao family. In Early Zhou, Zhou Wu Wang awarded Cao Xie, the descendent of Zhuanxu, 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, there was a senior official in the state named Qiu Ruo, and his descendents have taken Qiu as their surname since then.

Qiu is also originated from a place name. An official named Zuo Qiuming in the Lu State in the Spring and Autumn period lived in Zuo Qiu (now in Dingtao in southern Shandong). And his descendents took the last part of the place name as their surname. In the pre-Qin period (21st century-221 BC), most of Qiu families lived in Shandong area. After Qing and Han dynasties, Qiu families gradually moved to the southern areas. And most of them were big families to the south of the Yangtze River. Qiu families entered Taiwan in early Qing Dynasty and Qiu has become one of the popular surnames in the province.

At the present, there are two surnames of Qiu with different writing forms in the country.

By People's Daily Online