Song (Chinese surname)

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Song
Song character in ancient script on top, modern script at bottom
PronunciationSòng (Mandarin)
Language(s)chinese
Other names
Variant form(s)Sung, Soong, Tống

Song is the pinyin transliteration of the Chinese family name . It is transliterated as Sung in Wade-Giles, and Soong is also a common transliteration. In addition to being a common surname, it is also the name of a Chinese dynasty, the Song dynasty, written with the same character.

In 2019, it was the 24th most common surname in Mainland China.

Historical origin[edit]

The first written record of the character (Sòng) was found on the oracle bones of the Shang dynasty.

State of Song[edit]

In the written records of Chinese history, the first time the character Song was used as a surname appeared in the early stage of the Zhou dynasty. One of the children of the last emperor of the Shang dynasty, Weizi Qi (微子启), was a duke from the state named Song, who descended from his ancestor Xie (契) whose name was derived from the surname Zi (子). Xie was born from Jiandi from the swallow from the blackbird egg, who came from Yousong (有娀), the legendary state.[1] The State of Song, Song's dominion, became part of the Zhou dynasty after the fall of the Shang dynasty, and was inherited from the dynasty formally in 11th century BC. Citizens of the former State of Song commemorated the overthrow of their state in 286 BC by the State of Qi owned by Tian, who began to use the character Song as their surname, which is the authentic branch.[2]

  • From the Taiping Guangji, The Duke Jing of Song assigned the surname Song to a savage, who was named Ziwei (子韦), in charge of astronomy as Fangshi, whose alias was Sixing (司星).

Song dynasty[edit]

  • Emperor Huizong of Song's officer changed his name to Song, using the dynasty name as a family name, which was the imperial clan branch of the Song dynasty.[3]
  • Charlie Soong changed his family name from Han to Soon, then Soong, which was one of the accepted English spellings of the dynasty name Song, the dynasty from the tenth to the thirteenth century in China.[4][5]

Others[edit]

  • There is a family clan originally located in Pingyang called Dashila (答失剌) who have used this character since the Ming dynasty.[2]
  • Moreover, the surname branched off into a clan derived from an ancestor named Temuer or Timur (帖木儿) with the grant of a seal who used the character since Ming dynasty. From the history records, it may refer to Knight of Fenyang, who is the descendant of Godan Khan.[2]

Blood type distribution[edit]

Population of surname Song's ABO blood type distribution is O blood type 31.3%, B blood type 30.6%, A blood type 28.4% and AB blood type 9.7%.[7]

Variations[edit]

A less common Chinese family name, Chóng () can also be transliterated to Soong in some Chinese dialects.

The surname Song is also used in Korea.

In Vietnam, the surname is pronounced as Tống.

Notable people[edit]

Historical figures[edit]

Modern figures[edit]

Fictional characters[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Gopal Sukhu (2017). The Songs of Chu, An Anthology of Ancient Chinese Poetry by Qu Yuan and Others. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-231-54465-8.
  2. ^ a b c d 徐铁生 (2017). 《百家姓》新解. 北京: 中华书局. pp. 303–304. ISBN 9787101125337.
  3. ^ Li Yueshen (2006). 松江府宋氏家族世系及文学成就概述. Journal of Zhejiang University.
  4. ^ Sterling Seagrave (1986). The Soong Dynasty. New York: Harper & Row, Publisher. pp. 23, 63. ISBN 0-06-091318-5.
  5. ^ Hannah Pakula (2009). The Last Empress, Madame Chiang Kai-shek and the Birth of Modern China. Simon & Schuster. pp. Chapter 1. ISBN 978-1-4391-4893-8.
  6. ^ Laura Hostetler (2001). Qing Colonial Enterprise: Ethnography and Cartography in Early Modern China. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. pp. 134–137. ISBN 0-226-35420-2.
  7. ^ 袁义达等 (2002). 中国姓氏:群体遗传和人口分布. 华东师范大学出版社. p. 96. ISBN 7-5617-2769-0.