Cài () is a Chinese-language surname that derives from the name of the ancient Cai state. In 2019 it was the 38th most common surname in China, but the 9th most common in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

(as of 2018), where it is usually romanized as "Tsai" (based on Wade-Giles romanization of

Standard Mandarin Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern standa ...

), "Tsay", or "Chai" and the 8th most common in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

, where it is usually romanized as "Chua", which is based on its Teochew and

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...

pronunciation. Koreans use Chinese-derived family names and in Korean, Cai is 채 in

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The l ...

, "

Chae Chae, also spelled Chai, is a Korean family name and an element in some Korean given names. Its meaning differs based on the hanja used to write it. Family name Overview The 2000 South Korean Census found 119,251 people with the family name Chae ...

" in

Revised Romanization Revised Romanization of Korean () is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea. It was developed by the National Academy of the Korean Language from 1995 and was released to the public on 7 July 2000 by South Korea's Mini ...

, It is also a common name in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

where it is romanized as "Choy", "Choi" or "Tsoi". In

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

, it is spelled as "Choi". In

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

, it is romanized as "Choi" from the Cantonese pronunciation, and "Chua" or "Chuah" from the Hokkien or Teochew pronunciation. It is romanized in the Philippines as "Chua" or "Chuah", and in Thailand as "Chuo" (ฉั่ว). Moreover, it is also romanized in Cambodia as either "Chhay" or "Chhor" among people of full Chinese descent living in Cambodia and as "Tjoa" or "Chua" in Indonesia.

History

The Chois are said to be the descendants of the 5th son of

King Wen of Zhou King Wen of Zhou (; 1152–1050 BC, the Cultured King) was Count of Zhou during the late Shang dynasty in ancient China. Although frequently confused with his fourth son Duke of Zhou, also known as "Lord Zhou", they are different historical perso ...

, Ji Du. Ji Du was awarded the title of marquis ('' hóu'') of the State of Cai (centered on what is now

Shangcai Shangcai County () is a county in the south of Henan province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhumadian. Administrative divisions As 2017, this county is divided to 4 subdistricts, 12 towns and 10 townships ...

Zhumadian Zhumadian (; postal: Chumatien) is a prefecture-level city in southern Henan province, China. It borders Xinyang to the south, Nanyang to the west, Pingdingshan to the northwest, Luohe to the north, Zhoukou to the northeast, and the province of ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is a ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

), and he was known as Cai Shu Du ("Uncle Du of Cai"). Together with Guan Shu and

Huo Shu Huo () is a Chinese surname. It is pronounced as Fok in Cantonese. During the Zhou Dynasty, King Wu awarded land to his brother Shuchu (叔處) in "Huo" (modern Huozhou, Shanxi), and Shuchu's descendants adopted "Huo" as their family name. No ...

, they were known as the

Three Guards The Rebellion of the Three Guards (), or less commonly the Wu Geng Rebellion (), was a civil war, instigated by an alliance of discontent Zhou princes, Shang loyalists, vassal states and other non-Zhou peoples against the Western Zhou governmen ...

. When King Wu died, his son King Cheng was too young and his uncle, the

Duke of Zhou Dan, Duke Wen of Zhou (), commonly known as the Duke of Zhou (), was a member of the royal family of the early Zhou dynasty who played a major role in consolidating the kingdom established by his elder brother King Wu. He was renowned for actin ...

, became

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

. Seeing that the power of the Duke of Zhou was increasing, the Three Guards got jealous and rebelled against Zhou together with Wu Geng. The Duke of Zhou suppressed the rebellion, and Cai Shu was exiled. King Cheng reestablished Cai Shu's son Wu or Hu as the new Duke of Cai. Some 600 years later in the

Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...

, the

State of Chu Chu, or Ch'u in Wade–Giles romanization, (, Hanyu Pinyin: Chǔ, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was a Zhou dynasty vassal state. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BCE. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou ...

conquered Cai in 447 BC and was itself conquered by the Qin state which, in turn, formed the Qin Empire, China's first empire. With the spread of family names to all social classes in the new empire, many people of the former state of Cai began to bear it as a surname. The Cai descendants have undertaken the following two major migrations. During the Huang Chao Rebellion ( AD 875) at the end of the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

(AD 618–907), the Cai clan migrated to

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...

and

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its ...

provinces. Another later migration occurred when

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

loyalist Koxinga moved military officials surnamed Cai and their families to

in the 17th century. As a result, the surname is far more common in these areas and in areas settled by their descendants (e.g.,

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

) than in other parts of China.

Transliteration and romanization

Chinese

Cai is written the same (蔡) in both simplified and

traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

Chinese character Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...

s. In

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language ...

, the surname is transliterated as Cài in

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

and Tongyong Pinyin, Ts'ai in Wade-Giles, and Tsay in Gwoyeu Romatzyh. In

Southern Min Southern Min (), Minnan ( Mandarin pronunciation: ) or Banlam (), is a group of linguistically similar and historically related Sinitic languages that form a branch of Min Chinese spoken in Fujian (especially the Minnan region), most of Taiwa ...

Taiwanese Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan (Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan * Taiwanese people, r ...

, it is Chhoà in Pe̍h-oē-jī. In

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...

(

and

), it is Coi3 in Jyutping and Choi in

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

. (This should not be confused with the predominantly Korean family name Choi which has a different character ��. In

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

it is Tshai in Pha̍k-fa-sṳ. (In Tongyong pinyin, it is Cai in Siyen Hakka and Ca̱i in Hoiliuk Hakka.) In Fuzhou dialect, it is Chái (in

Bàng-uâ-cê Foochow Romanized, also known as Bàng-uâ-cê (BUC for short; ) or Hók-ciŭ-uâ Lò̤-mā-cê (), is a Latin alphabet for the Fuzhou dialect of Eastern Min adopted in the middle of the 19th century by Western missionaries. It had varied at dif ...

Other languages

Koreans use Chinese-derived family names and in Korean, Cai is 채 in

, and Ch'ae in McCune-Reischauer. Vietnamese also use Chinese-derived family names. In Vietnamese, the name is Thái. The Chinese name 蔡 is usually transliterated via Sino-Vietnamese as Thái but sometimes as Sái. Japanese do not use Chinese family names but for Chinese in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

who carry the name, it is さい in

Hiragana is a Japanese syllabary, part of the Japanese writing system, along with ''katakana'' as well as ''kanji''. It is a phonetic lettering system. The word ''hiragana'' literally means "flowing" or "simple" kana ("simple" originally as contras ...

and Sai in the major romanization systems.

Romanization

Cai is

romanized Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

as Cai in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, Tsai (or occasionally Tsay or Chai for Mandarin) or Tsoa in the

, and Choi or Choy in

and

. In

, and

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by th ...

, the most common forms are Chua or Chuah for Teochew and

speakers, Chai for

speakers, Choi or Tsoi for

speakers, and Toy or Toi for Taishanese speakers. In

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

, it is usually romanized as Tjoa/Tjhoa/Tjoea/Tjhoea (Hokkien & Teochew), Tjhoi (Cantonese) or Tjhai (Hakka) with Dutch spelling, or Tjua/Tjhua (Hokkien & Teochew) with old Indonesian spelling, or Chua (Hokkien & Teochew), Choy/Choi (Cantonese) or Chai (Hakka) with current Indonesian spelling. In the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, it is Chua or Cua ( or ). Chua is pronounced in other Anglophone countries outside the Philippines. Other variations include Chye and Coi.

Derivative names

In addition, some of the Chuas (Cais) who resided in the Philippines adopted Spanish names to avoid persecution by the Spanish rulers during the Philippines' Spanish colonial rule from the early 16th to late 19th century. Hispanicized forms of the name include Chuachiaco, Chuakay, Chuapoco, Chuaquico, Chuacuco, Tuazon, Chuateco, and Chuatoco.Hector Santos
Katálogo ng mga Apelyidong Pilipino (Catalog of Filipino Names).
These names were formed from the surname, one character of the given name, and the suffix "-co", a Minnan honorific ''ko'' (哥), literally meaning "older brother". In Thailand, most Thais of Chinese descendance use Thai surnames. Legislation by Siamese

King Rama VI Vajiravudh ( th, วชิราวุธ, , 1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth monarch of Siam under the Chakri dynasty as Rama VI. He ruled from 23 October 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his efforts ...

(r. 1910–1925) required the adoption of Thai surnames which was largely directed at easing tensions with Chinese community by encouraging assimilation. Thai law did not (and does not) allow identical surnames to those already in existence, so ethnic Chinese formerly surnamed Chua incorporating words that sound like "Chua" and have good meaning (such as ''Chai'', meaning "victory") into much longer surnames. After Suharto came to power, his regime created many anti-Chinese legislations in Indonesia. One of them was 127/U/Kep/12/1966 which strongly encouraged ethnic Chinese living in Indonesia to adopt Indonesian-sounding names instead of the standard three-word or two-word Chinese names. Many Indonesianized names are Chinese surname syllables with western or Indonesian prefix or suffix – resulting in many exotic-sounding names. Although two Chinese individuals shared the same Chinese surname, they may employ different strategies for the Indonesian-sounding names. For example, Indonesianized forms of Cai include Tjuatja, Cuaca, Tjuandi, Cuandi, Tjahjana, Tjahja, etc. Despite the Indonesianization, the Chinese surnames are still used today by the Chinese-Indonesian diaspora overseas (mostly in the Netherlands, Germany, and USA); by those Chinese-Indonesians courageous enough during Suharto's regime to keep their Chinese names (e.g., Kwik Kian Gie), or by those who couldn't afford to process the name change through Indonesia's civil bureaucracy. After Suharto resigned from the presidency, subsequent governments revoked the ban on the ethnic Chinese from speaking and learning Chinese in public. Using the original Chinese surnames is no longer a taboo but only a small minority have decided to re-adopt the original Chinese surnames of their grandparents or to use the Mandarin Chinese

romanization, pronunciation and spelling and most retain their changed names as the post-1965 generations have been culturally Indonesianized.

Notable people

* Cai Cheng, a Chinese politician * Cai Chusheng, an early Chinese film director * Cai E, a Chinese revolutionary and warlord in early 20th century * Cai Feihu, Chinese professor, engineer and businessman *

Cai Gongshi 200px, Cai Gongshi (before 1921) Cai Gongshi (; May 1, 1881 - May 3, 1928) was a Chinese nationalist politician and diplomat. Born in Jiujiang, Jiangxi, Cai studied economics and politics at Imperial University in Tokyo, Japan, earning a master's ...

, a Chinese emissary killed by Japanese soldiers during the Jinan Incident *

Cai Guo-Qiang Cai Guo-Qiang (; born 8 December 1957) is a Chinese artist who currently lives and works in New York City and New Jersey. Biography Cai Guo-Qiang was born in 1957 in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, China. His father, Cai Ruiqin, was a calligraphe ...

, a Chinese contemporary artist and curator. *

Cai Hesen Cai Hesen (March 30, 1895 – August 4, 1931) was an early leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and a friend and comrade of Mao Zedong. Cai was born in Shanghai but grew up in Shuangfeng County in Hunan Province of China. He ...

, an early leader of the Chinese Communist Party and a friend and comrade of Mao Zedong *

Cai Jing Cai Jing (1047–1126), courtesy name Yuanchang (), was a Chinese calligrapher and politician who lived during the Northern Song dynasty of China. He is also fictionalised as one of the primary antagonists in '' Water Margin'', one of the Four ...

, a Song dynasty official and a character in the Chinese literature classic the ''Water Margin'' * Lady Cai, the wife of Han dynasty provincial governor Liu Biao *

Cai Lun Cai Lun (; courtesy name: Jingzhong (); – 121 CE), formerly romanized as Ts'ai Lun, was a Chinese eunuch court official of the Eastern Han dynasty. He is traditionally regarded as the inventor of paper and the modern papermaking process ...

, the inventor of paper in the Han dynasty * Cai Mao, a man of the gentry who served under Han dynasty provincial governor Liu Biao, cousin of Cai He and Cai Zhong *

Cai Pei Cai Pei (; Hepburn: Sai Bai; 1884–1960) was a diplomat and politician in the pre- World War II Republic of China. He held a number of important posts during the collaborationist Reorganized National Government of China, and successively held t ...

, a diplomat and politician in the Republic of China *

Cai Qi Cai Qi (; born December 5, 1955) is a Chinese politician, the current First Secretary of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party and the fifth-ranking member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee. Cai began his career in Fujian province ...

, a Chinese politician * Cai Qian, a Chinese pirate in the Qing dynasty * Cai Shangjun, a Chinese film director and screenwriter * Cai Shu, a Chinese high jumper * Cai Tingkai, a Chinese general during the Republican era * Cai Wenji, a Han dynasty poet and composer also known as Cai Yan, daughter of scholar Cai Yong * Cai Xiang, a calligrapher, scholar, official and poet during the Song dynasty also known as Cai Zhonghui *

Cai Xitao Cai Xitao or Tsai Hse-Tao (; 10 April 1911 – 9 March 1981) was a Chinese botanist from a village near Dongyang, Zhejiang province, China. In 1928, after studying at various institutions in Hangzhou and Shanghai, though without attaining any ...

, a Chinese botanist *

Cai Xukun Cai Xukun (born August 2, 1998), better known by the mononym Kun (stylized as KUN), is a Chinese singer-songwriter, dancer and rapper. He debuted as a member of SWIN and its sub-unit SWIN-S on October 18, 2016, after participating in the first a ...

, a Chinese actor, singer and song composer, former leader and center of Chinese boy group

Nine Percent Nine Percent (Chinese: 百分九少年; commonly stylized as NINE PERCENT) was a nine-member Chinese boy group formed by the survival show '' Idol Producer'' by iQIYI on April 6, 2018. The group was scheduled to promote for 18 months since form ...

* Cai Xuzhe, a Chinese astronaut * Cai Yong, a Han dynasty scholar and father of Cai Wenji * Cai Yuanpei, a chancellor of Peking University and first president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (''Academic Sinica'') *

Cai Yun Cai Yun (born 19 January 1980) is a former professional badminton player representing China. He is the 2012 London Olympic gold medallist and a four-time World Champion in men's doubles. He is regarded as one of the greatest men's doubles player ...

, a Chinese badminton player * Cai Zhuohua, a Chinese Christian preacher *

Chae Je-gong Chae Jegong (12 May 1720 – 22 February 1799) was a noted scholar, writer, politician of the Joseon period of Korea. He passed the regional civil examination (향시) at the age of 15, and held high government offices throughout his life, the Y ...

, a Joseon dynasty scholar, writer, politician * Chae Myung-shin, a South Korean army officer * Chae Su-chan, a South Korean politician and scholar * Chai Trong-rong or Trong Chai, a Taiwanese politician * Ada Choi, a Hong Kong actress * Charlene Choi, a Hong Kong singer, member of the Twins duo * Choi Chi-sum, a Hong Kong evangelist * Fátima Choi, a Macanese government minister *

Sandra Choi Sandra Choi is a British businesswoman and fashion designer. She is the creative director of J. Choo Limited. She is the niece of Jimmy Choo's wife, Rebecca. Background Choi was born on the Isle of Wight and educated in Hong Kong before returnin ...

, an English creative director and designer for shoemaker Jimmy Choo Ltd *

Richard Tsoi Richard Tsoi Yiu-cheong (; born 11 September 1967) is a Hong Kong politician and the former vice-chairman of the Democratic Party (Hong Kong), Democratic Party. He ran for many Legislative Council and District Council elections and was elected ...

, a Hong Kong activist and polictican *

Vin Choi Vin Choi Kay-Chun (born 23 May 1984) is a Hong Kong actor under TVB. Biography After graduating from high school in 2001, Vin entered a contest hosted by TVB Weekly and won first place. He enrolled in the 18th TVB artists training course in 200 ...

, a Hong Kong actor *

Choi York Yee Choi York Yee (, born 11 May 1953From a Chinese book 香港代表隊龍虎榜, published in the 1970s.) is a retired Hong Kong football player and is now a sports commentator in Hong Kong. He played as a defender in South China for 8 years. H ...

, a Hong Kong footballer and sports commentator * Anna Choy, an Australian actress, TV presenter, and Australia Day Ambassador *

Elizabeth Choy Elizabeth Choy Su-Moi (née Yong; 29 November 1910 – 14 September 2006) was a Singaporean educator and councillor who is regarded as a war heroine in Singapore. Along with her husband, Choy Khun Heng, she supplied medicine, money and messa ...

, a North Borneo-born Singaporean World War II heroine * Choy So-yuk, a Hong Kong politician * Choy Weng Yang, a Singaporean artist * Alfrancis Chua, a Filipino basketball coach *

Amy Chua Amy Lynn Chua (born October 26, 1962), also known as "the Tiger Mom", is an American lawyer, legal scholar, and writer. She is the John M. Duff Jr. Professor of Law at Yale Law School with an expertise in international business transactions, law ...

, an American academic and author of Filipino Chinese descent *

Brent Chua Brent Chua (born May 21, 1985) is a Chinese Filipino model and fashion photographer. The ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'' has referred to him as an Asian male supermodel. He is the youngest among 5 brothers. Modelling career After walking the runwa ...

, a Filipino model * Dexmon Chua, Singaporean murder victim * Chua Ek Kay, a Singaporean artist *

Chua En Lai Chua En Lai (born 25 November 1979) is a Singaporean actor, comedian and host, best known for his work on the Mediacorp Channel 5 sitcom '' The Noose''. He left Mediacorp due to his contract expiry. Early life Chua was born in Singapore and ...

(born 1979), a Singaporean actor *

Glen Chua Glen Boon Sun Chua (born July 9, 1987 in Lundu, Malaysia) is a Canadian film director, actor, and writer, best known for his independent films. Biography Early life Chua was born in Lundu, a little Malaysian village near the coast. He is t ...

, a Canadian film director, actor, and writer * Joi Chua (Joi Tsai), a Singaporean singer *

Jonathan Chua Jonathan Chua (born 12 February 1990), better known as Jon Chua JX, is a Singapore-based actor and singer. He is one of the members of Singaporean band The Sam Willows and the co-founder and creative director of Zendyll Records, and managing dire ...

(Jon Chua JX / Jonny X), a Singaporean musician & entrepreneur * Chua, Carlo Dino, a Filipino former vice mayor of

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southw ...

* Chua Jui Meng (born 1943), a Malaysian health minister and prominent politician *

Chua Lam Chua Lam (also known as Mandarin: Tsai Lan, Cantonese: Choi Lan, Teochew: Chùa Lāng) ( simplified Chinese: , traditional Chinese: , born 1941 in Singapore) is a Singaporean columnist, food critic, and occasional television host based in Hong ...

, a Singaporean-born Hong Kong columnist and movie producer * Chua Leong Aik, Singaporean murder accomplice * Chua, Leon O., an American professor and inventor of Chua's circuit *

Simon Chua Ling Fung Chua Ling Fung Simon is a bodybuilder from Singapore who started off as an instructor in a gymnasium before taking up the sport full-time. In 1991, he came in third in his first participation in a national event at the under-21 National Ch ...

, a bodybuilder from Singapore * Death of Mark Chua, a Filipino murder victim *

Paige Chua Paige Chua Qi Hui (; born 25 June 1981) is a Singaporean actress. Early life Chua was born in Singapore on 25 June 1981. She attended Mayflower Secondary School and Serangoon Junior College before graduating from the National University of ...

(born 1981), a Singaporean model and actress * Paul Chua, a Singaporean bodybuilder *

Chua Phung Kim Chua Phung Kim (; 29 April 1939 – 4 August 1990) was a Singaporean weightlifter. He was a gold medalist in weightlifting in the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. Weightlifting career Chua first took to the sport in 1960 after b ...

, a Singaporean weightlifter *

Robert Chua Robert Chua Wah-Peng (born 20 May 1946) is an Asian broadcaster. Background Born in 1946 in Colony of Singapore, on 20 May 1946, he has worked internationally in Australia, Hong Kong and China as well. Among other activities in his career, he wa ...

, a Singapore-born Asian television executive * Chua Ser Lien, Singaporean kidnapper *

Chua Sock Koong Chua Sock Koong is the former Group CEO of Singtel, a position she has held from April 2007 to December 2020. Professional career Appointed Group Chief Executive Officer in April 2007, Chua directed Singtel’s global strategy and oversees its c ...

, a Singaporean telecom executive * Chua Soi Lek, a Malaysian health minister and prominent politician, former Member of Parliament for Labis *

Chua Soon Bui Datuk Chua Soon Bui (; born 1 February 1955) was the Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Tawau constituency in Sabah from 2008 to 2013. She sat in Parliament as a member of the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), which commenced the 2008� ...

, a Malaysian politician * Tanya Chua, a Singaporean singer * Chua Tee Yong, a Malaysian politician, former Member of Parliament for Labis * Chua Tian Chang, or Tian Chua, a Malaysian politician, former Member of Parliament for Batu *Chua Yee Ling, a Malaysian politician, former Member of Perak State Assembly for Kuala Sapetang *Chua Wei Kiat, a Malaysian politician, Member of Selangor State Assembly for Rawang and State Chairman for AMK's Selangor Chief * Chuah, Tricia, a Malaysian squash player * Chuah Guat Eng, a Malaysian novelist * Nakaima, Hirkazu, Governor of Okinawa Prefecture; Nakaima is descended from a Chinese family with the surname of Cai, one of the 36 Han Chinese Kumemura families who moved to Okinawa in 1392.仲井真弘多後援會
*

Sai On (1682–1762), or Cai Wen in Chinese, also known as , was a scholar-bureaucrat official of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, serving as regent, instructor, and advisor to King Shō Kei. He is renowned for the many reforms he initiated and oversaw, and is amo ...

, a scholar-bureaucrat official of the Ryūkyū Kingdom * Sai Taku, a scholar-bureaucrat official of the Ryūkyū Kingdom * Thai, David, a Vietnamese-American gangster * Thai, Minh, a Vietnamese-American speedcuber *

Thái Phiên Thái Phiên (1882–1916), was a Vietnamese scholar and revolutionary from Quảng Nam Province, also known by the alias Nam Xương. He was an associate of Phan Bội Châu, and was involved in both the Vietnam Restoration League ( vi, Việt Na ...

, a Vietnamese scholar and revolutionary * Thái Quang Hoàng, a lieutenant general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam * Thái Thanh, a Vietnamese-American singer * Thái Văn Dung, a Vietnamese Catholic activist * Vico Thai, a Vietnamese-Australian actor * Tjoa Ing Hwie or Tjoa Jien Hwie, the birth name of

Surya Wonowidjojo Surya Wonowidjojo (15 August 1923 – 28 August 1985) was an Indonesian businessman and cigarette maker. Wonowidjojo, sometimes spelt Wonowidjoyo, was a Chinese Indonesian ( Hokchia totok) born Tjoa Ing Hwie or Tjoa Jien Hwie (;Leo Suryadinata. ...

, founder of Gudang Garam * Tjoa, Marga, the real name of Indonesian writer Marga T * Tjoa To Hing, the birth name of Indonesian businessman

Rachman Halim Rachman Halim (30 July 1947 – 27 July 2008) was a Chinese Indonesian businessman. Early life Halim was born Tjoa Too Hing (;Leo Suryadinata. ''Prominent Indonesian Chinese: Biographical Sketches''. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 199 ...

* Alex Tsai, a Taiwanese politician *

Tsai Chia-Hsin Tsai Chia-hsin (; born 25 July 1982) is a Taiwanese former badminton player. He competed at the 2006 and 2014 Asian Games. Tsai also competed (for the Republic of China as Chinese Taipei) in the 2004 Summer Olympics in mixed doubles with partne ...

, a Taiwanese badminton player * Tsai Chih-chieh, a Taiwanese footballer (soccer player) * Tsai Chih-Ling, American business professor and author * Tsai Chih Chung, a Taiwanese cartoonist * Tsai Chin, a Taiwanese popular music singer * Tsai, Emilio Estevez, a Canadian soccer player *

Tsai Horng Chung Tsai Horng Chung (also, Chai Chung Ying; 蔡洪鐘) (1915–2003), was a Chinese-Sarawakan painter. Tsai studied at the Shanghai Art Academy in the early 1940s, together with other artists who were to gain considerable fame such as Chen Shi Fat ...

, a Chinese-Sarawakan painter * Tsai Hsien-tang, a Taiwanese footballer * Tsai Hui-kai, a Taiwanese footballer (soccer player) * Tsai Ing-wen, president and former vice premier of Taiwan * Tsai Ying-wen, a Taiwanese Political scientist * Jeanne Tsai, an American academic * Jolin Tsai, a Taiwanese pop singer * Joseph Tsai, a Canadian businessman, lawyer and philanthropist * Kevin Tsai, a Taiwanese writer and television host * Lauren Tsai, an American illustrator, model, and actress * Tsai Min-you, the real name of a Taiwanese singer Evan Yo * Ming Tsai, an American chef and host of television cooking shows * Tsai Mi-ching, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology of the Republic of China * Tsai Ming-Hung, a Taiwanese baseball player * Tsai Ming-liang, a Taiwanese movie director * Tsai Ping-kun, Deputy Mayor of

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

Tsai Sen-tien Tsai Sen-tien (; born 28 October 1948) is a Taiwanese politician who was the Vice Minister of Health and Welfare from June 2016 until August 2017. Early life Tsai did his bachelor's degree in medicine from National Taiwan University in 1982. ...

, Vice Minister of Health and Welfare of the Republic of China (2016–2017) *

Tsai Shengbai Tsai Shengbai (); also known as: Tsai Hsiung (), (27 September 1894 – 15 April 1977) was a pioneering Chinese industrialist. During 1915 to 1919, Tsai Shengbai studied at Lehigh University. In the initial phase of Chinese industrial expansion, ...

, a Chinese industrialist * , an American engineer * , a Taiwanese politician and founder of Cathay Life Insurance Company; brother of Tsai Wan-lin and Tsai Wan-tsai ''(qq.v.)'' and father of

Tsai Chen-chou Tsai Chen-chou (; 13 September 1946 – 14 May 1987) was a Taiwanese politician and businessman. He was the second son of and a member of the Tsai family of Miaoli. The family was known outside of politics for its wealth. His brothers included ...

and Tsai Chen-nan (businessman) *

Tsai Wan-lin Tsai Wan-lin (; 10 November 1924 – 27 September 2004) was a Taiwanese businessman who, at the peak of his wealth in 1996, was considered to be the fifth richest person in the world, with a family net worth of US$12.2 billion. At the time of ...

, a Taiwanese billionaire and founder of Cathay Life Insurance Company; brother of Tsai Wan-chin and Tsai Wan-tsai ''(qq.v.)'' and father of

Tsai Hong-tu Tsai Hong-tu (; born 1 August 1952) is a Taiwanese businessman and banker. He is a son of Tsai Wan-lin, the former richest person of Taiwan who died in 2004. Business career Tsai Hong-tu is the chairman of the board of Cathay Financial Holdin ...

and

T. Y. Tsai Tseng-yu Tsai () is a Taiwanese billionaire. Early life Tsai is a son of Tsai Wan-lin, and brother to Tsai Hong-tu and Tsai Cheng-da. Education Tsai has a bachelor's degree from Tokao University. Tsai has an MBA from National Taiwan Universi ...

Tsai Wan-tsai Tsai Wan-tsai (; 5 August 1929 – 5 October 2014) was a Taiwanese banker. Born in modern-day Miaoli, his birth name was 蔡萬財. He is one of the brothers of Tsai Wan-lin, and an uncle of Tsai Hong-tu. Tsai Wan-tsai was a member of the Legis ...

, a Taiwanese billionaire, member of the Legislative Yuan and founder of Fubon Group; brother of Tsai Wan-chin and Tsai Wan-lin ''(qq.v.)'' and father of

Daniel Tsai Daniel Tsai (; born 1956 or 1957) is a Taiwanese billionaire businessman. He and his brother Richard Tsai run Fubon Financial Holding Co., founded by their father Tsai Wan-tsai Tsai Wan-tsai (; 5 August 1929 – 5 October 2014) was a Taiwanese ...

and

Richard Tsai Richard Tsai (; born 1957 or 1958) is a Taiwanese billionaire businessman. He and his brother Daniel Tsai run Fubon Financial Holding Co., founded by their father Tsai Wan-tsai. On the ''Forbes'' 2016 list of the world's billionaires, Richard T ...

* Will Tsai, a Canadian magician *

Tsai Yi-chen Tsai Yi-chen (), born 23 August 1987, stage named Wu Xiong (五熊). She is a Taiwanese actress who is best known for her minor performance in Taiwanese series, KO One, as Tsai Wu Xiong, and for her lead performance in '' Summer x Summer'' a ...

, a Taiwanese actress * Yu Tsai, an American photographer

References

External links

Chua Clan Chiyang Association, Muar, Johor, Malaysia
(馬來西亞柔佛麻坡蔡氏濟陽公所) website {{surname, Cai Cai (state) Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames