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Surname is an important symbol of the passing on of culture not only in China but also in the whole world. However, it is only in China that they are handed down in the most complete and meaningful manner. For a long time, Chinese surnames have been passed on from father to son, which happened to follow the same line with the Y chromosome unique to males. As a result, groups bearing the same surname possess the same kind of Y chromosome and the genes they carry.
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Top 100 Surnames was actually a book that recorded 504 surnames and compiled before 400 B.C. Chinese surnames started with the first ancient emperors Yan and Huang. Surname Li ranks the first among the top 100 surnames due to its wide origins.
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| UPDATED 15:05, June 20, 2007 |
| China has 4100 meaningful surnames |
| China has recently unveiled its new list of top 100 surnames as a result of a latest study sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation.
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| Chinese surname history: Li |
| Li is a big surname in China with a large population. Surname Li families were originally the lineal descendants of Emperor Zhuan Xu, also named Gaoyangshi, and the emperor was once given the land of Gaoyang according to historical records. |
| Chinese surname history: Wang |
| One of the current biggest surnames in China, families surnamed Wang are the descendants of monarchs. One can know from historical records that Wang families are the "offspring of kings", namely, the descendants of monarchs. Wang means the king or the ruler.
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History of Chinese surname |
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The Origin of Chinese Surnames (16:26, October 30, 2006)
History of Chinese surnames: Cai (16:56, September 20, 2006)
History of a Chinese surname: Lin (17:22, September 06, 2006)
Chinese family name map: Guo (10:35, August 31, 2006)
Map of Chinese surnames -- Ruan (17:51, August 16, 2006)
History of surname Fang (14:03, May 16, 2006)
Chinese surname history: Peng (16:39, April 27, 2006)
History of Chinese surname: Su (16:48, April 10, 2006)
History of surname Zhang (16:20, April 06, 2006)
A history of Chinese surname Yan (16:48, March 23, 2006)
Chinese surname history: He (08:46, March 03, 2006)
Chinese surname history: Xu (16:08, February 27, 2006)
Chinese surname history: Qin (16:30, February 20, 2006)
Chinese surname history: Zhu (16:04, February 16, 2006)
Chinese Yang surname history (16:06, February 14, 2006)
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More >>
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Related news |
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Differences between xing and shi (14:59, June 20, 2007)
Distribution of surnames (14:59, June 20, 2007)
Some surnames are endangered species (15:03, June 20, 2007)
What's in a surname? A combination of mother's and father's (15:03, June 20, 2007)
Chinese surname shortage sparks rethink (15:02, June 20, 2007)
China has 4100 meaningful surnames (17:07, January 13, 2006)
China renews top 100 surnames, Li still the biggest (17:05, January 11, 2006)
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