Jì is the Mandarin

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

romanization of the Chinese surname written in

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 ''kanj ...

. It is romanized as Chi in

Wade–Giles Wade–Giles () is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Francis Wade, during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert A. Giles's '' Chinese–English Dictionary'' o ...

, and Kei 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 ar ...

. Ji is the 294th most common surname in China, with a population of 160,000. It is listed 316th in the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

classic text ''

Hundred Family Surnames The ''Hundred Family Surnames'' (), commonly known as ''Bai Jia Xing'', also translated as ''Hundreds of Chinese Surnames'', is a classic Chinese text composed of common Chinese surnames. An unknown author compiled the book during the Song dy ...

''.

Demographics

As of 2008, Ji 冀 is the 294th most common surname in China, shared by 160,000 people, or 0.013% of the Chinese population. It is concentrated in the provinces of Shanxi,

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and 0 ...

, Shandong, and

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 al ...

. Shanxi has the highest number of people with the surname, accounting for 29% of the total.

Origins

According to tradition, there are three main origins of the Ji 冀 surname: 1. According to the

text '' Lushi'', King Wu of Zhou (reigned 1046–1043 BC) enfeoffed a descendant of

Emperor Yao Emperor Yao (; traditionally c. 2356 – 2255 BCE) was a legendary Chinese ruler, according to various sources, one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Ancestry and early life Yao's ancestral name is Yi Qi () or Qi (), clan name i ...

at the state of Ji 冀, located in present-day Jishan or

Anze County Anze County () is a county in the south of Shanxi Province, China, under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Linfen. The county spans an area of 1,967 square kilometers, and has a population of 82,012 as of 2010. History The count ...

, Shanxi province. During the Spring and Autumn period, Ji was conquered by the neighbouring state of Jin, a major power of the time. The people of Ji subsequently adopted the name of their former state as their surname. 2. After Jin conquered the state of Ji, the Duke of Jin enfeoffed his minister Xi Rui ( 郤芮, died 636 BC) at Ji, Xi Rui was subsequently also called Ji Rui, and his descendants adopted the name of his fief as their surname. 3. A third origin of the Ji surname is the

state of Song Song (; Old Chinese: *') was a state during the Zhou dynasty of ancient China, with its capital at Shangqiu. The state was founded soon after King Wu of Zhou conquered the Shang dynasty to establish the Zhou dynasty in 1046 BC. It was conquered ...

of the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by ...

. A branch of the ruling house of Song adopted Ji as their surname, and this source of Ji is a branch of Zi, the ancestral name of the lords of Song.

Notable people

* Ji Yuanheng ( 冀元亨; 1482–1521),

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

official * Ji Ruxi ( 冀如錫; 1613–1686),

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

Minister of War * The Ji brothers of Shanxi: ** Ji Chaoding (冀朝鼎; 1903–1963), economist **

Chao-Li Chi Chao-Li Chi (; April 5, 1927 – October 16, 2010) was a Chinese-born American actor and dancer who worked extensively in American television, including his best known role as Chao-Li, the faithful majordomo and chauffeur of Jane Wyman's charac ...

(冀朝理; 1927–2010), Chinese-American actor ** Ji Chaozhu (冀朝铸; 1929–2020), Chinese ambassador to the UK and

Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations An under-secretary-general of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the secretary-general for a renewable term of four years. Under ...

* Ji Chunguang ( 冀春光; 1918–2013), Vice Governor of

Qinghai Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...

province * Ji Chuntang ( 冀纯堂; born 1953), former mayor of Shijiazhuang *

Ji Wenlin Ji Wenlin (; born July 1966) is a former Chinese politician. He was investigated by the Chinese Communist Party's anti-graft agency in February 2014. Previously he served as the Mayor of Haikou and the vice-Governor of Hainan. He once worked as ...

(冀文林; born 1966), former Vice Governor of

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

province

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ji Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames