During the Shang Dynasty (17th to 11th century BC), the State of Ruan, a vassal state, lay between the Jing and Wei Rivers, an area which is known nowadays as Jingchuan County in Gansu Province. Some time later, the state was annexed by one of her neighboring countries. The people of the state began to take Ruan as their surname to commemorate their former homeland. In this way the surname Ruan appeared.

The Ruan family started migrating to Central China and finally settled down in and around Chen Liu (now known as Kaifeng in He'nan Province). Gradually the Ruan family grew to be a very prestigious clan. Later some of the clan members in Chen Liu moved to other parts of China. During the period of the Three Kingdoms (AD 220-280), several influential figures emerged from the Ruan clan.

By People's Daily Online