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Henan Province Ancestral Home of Most Chinese
The latest study of the origins of major Chinese surnames shows that 73 of the 100 most common Chinese surnames originated in central China's Henan Province.
The province has just received a delegation of business people from Taiwan who came to the province in search of their roots. Clansmen of several major surnames in Taiwan, such as Chen, Lin, Ye, Huang, Zheng, Li, Xu, and Cai, have been coming to Henan for the past several years to take part in ancestor worship activities in the provincial hinterlands.
According to experts, the four biggest names in Taiwan, Chen, Lin, Huang, and Zheng, are all rooted in Henan Province.
Incomplete statistics indicate that arrivals of people from the island province of Taiwan to visit their relatives and friends in Henan have totaled more than one million since 1987, and 40 percent of them held memorial ceremonies for their ancestors.
Currently there are over 20 organizations and 100 scholars devoted to the study of Chinese surnames in Henan Province.
Henan was once the center of ancient China, and its cities of Luoyang and Kaifeng were the capitals of many dynasties.
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