Chinese family names have been historically used by Han Chinese and Sinicized Chinese ethnic groups in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and among overseas Chinese communities. In ancient times two types of surnames, family names (Chinese: 姓; pinyin: xìng) and clan names (氏; pinyin: shì), existed.
The colloquial expressions laobaixing (老百姓; lit. "old hundred surnames"), and bǎixìng (百姓, lit. "hundred surnames") are used in Chinese to mean "ordin...
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Chinese family names have been historically used by Han Chinese and Sinicized Chinese ethnic groups in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and among overseas Chinese communities. In ancient times two types of surnames, family names (Chinese: 姓; pinyin: xìng) and clan names (氏; pinyin: shì), existed.
The colloquial expressions laobaixing (老百姓; lit. "old hundred surnames"), and bǎixìng (百姓, lit. "hundred surnames") are used in Chinese to mean "ordinary folks", "the people", or "commoners." The Bǎijiāxìng (百家姓) or "the hundred most common surnames" refers to an ancient text documenting Chinese surnames.
Chinese family names are patrilineal, passed from father to children. (In cases of adoption, the adoptee usually also takes the same surname.)
Prior to the Warring States Period (fifth century BC), only the royal family and the aristocratic elite could generally take surnames. Historically there was also difference between xing (姓) and shi (氏). Xing were surnames held by the immediate...
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