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 ...
romanization of the
Chinese surname
Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, and among overseas Chinese communities around the world such as Singapore and Malaysia. Written Chinese names begin with surnames, unlik ...
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 ''kanji' ...
. 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 Gat 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 ...
. Ji is the 195th most common surname in China, with a population of 490,000. It is listed 190th 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 res ...
classic text
A classic is a book accepted as being exemplary or particularly noteworthy. What makes a book "classic" is a concern that has occurred to various authors ranging from Italo Calvino to Mark Twain and the related questions of "Why Read the C ...
''
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 吉 is the 195th most common surname in China, shared by 490,000 people, or 0.04% of the Chinese population. It is concentrated in the provinces of
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...
,
Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in His ...
,
Shanxi
Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-leve ...
, and
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 ...
, which together account for 50% of the total, including 15% in Jiangsu alone.
Origins
According to tradition, there are two main origins of the Ji 吉 surname:
1. From the ancient state of Southern Yan. Bo Tiao ( 伯儵), said to a descendant of the
Yellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Soverei ...
, was enfeoffed at the Southern Yan (in modern
Weihui
Weihui (), formerly Jixian or Ji County (), is a county-level city in the north of Henan province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Xinxiang
Xinxiang ( ; postal: Sinsiang) is a prefecture-level city in no ...
,
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 ...
). Bo Tiao's ancestral name was Ji 姞, and his descendants later dropped the 女 radical from their surname, which became Ji 吉.
2. From Xi Jia (兮甲), a top minister of
King Xuan of Zhou
__NOTOC__
King Xuan of Zhou, personal name Ji Jing, was the eleventh king of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. Estimated dates of his reign are 827/25–782 BC.
He worked to restore royal authority after the Gong He interregnum. He fought the 'Western ...
(reigned 827–782 BC), during the
Western Zhou
The Western Zhou ( zh, c=, p=Xīzhōu; c. 1045 BC – 771 BC) was a royal dynasty of China and the first half of the Zhou dynasty. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty at the Battle of Muye and ended when the Quanrong n ...
dynasty. He led the Zhou army to defeat the
Xianyun
The Xianyun (; Old Chinese: ( ZS) *''g.ramʔ-lunʔ''; (Schuessler) *''hɨamᴮ-juinᴮ'' < *''hŋamʔ-junʔ'') was an ancient nomadic tribe that invaded the
tribes of the north and the
Dongyi
The Dongyi or Eastern Yi () was a collective term for ancient peoples found in Chinese records. The definition of Dongyi varied across the ages, but in most cases referred to inhabitants of eastern China, then later, the Korean peninsula, and Ja ...
people of the Huai River. His military feat was extolled in several songs collected in the ''
Classic of Poetry
The ''Classic of Poetry'', also ''Shijing'' or ''Shih-ching'', translated variously as the ''Book of Songs'', ''Book of Odes'', or simply known as the ''Odes'' or ''Poetry'' (; ''Shī''), is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, c ...
''. His
courtesy name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theo ...
was Jifu (吉甫), and some of his descendants adopted Ji 吉, the main character of his courtesy name, as their surname.
A third possible origin was the legendary Jiyi tribe (吉夷氏). Some descendants of the tribe were said to have adopted Ji, the first character of Jiyi, as their surname.
Eastern Han
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
Eastern Jin
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
general who died of a hunger strike after being captured by the
Former Qin
The Former Qin, also called Fu Qin (苻秦), (351–394) was a dynastic state of the Sixteen Kingdoms in Chinese history ruled by the Di ethnicity. Founded by Fu Jian (posthumously Emperor Jingming) who originally served under the Later ...
*
Ji Xu
Ji Xu () was a Chinese politician during Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving briefly as chancellor.
Background
It is not known when Ji Xu was born, but it is known that he was from the Zhou capital Luoyang. He was said to be tall, good at hiding ...
(吉頊; died c. 700),
Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
under Empress
Wu Zetian
Wu Zetian (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was the ''de facto'' ruler of the Tang dynasty from 665 to 705, ruling first through others and then (from 690) in her own right. From 665 to 690, she was first empres ...
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 ...
official
* Ji Wenyuan ( 吉文元; died 1854), military leader of the
Taiping Rebellion
The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion and civil war that was waged in China between the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Han, Hakka-led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It last ...
*
Ji Hongchang
Ji Hongchang (; 1895–1934), born Ji Hengli, was a Chinese general and patriot.
Hongchang was born in Fugou, Henan province. He started his military career in 1913 under General Feng Yuxiang. He was the commander of the 22nd Army when he was app ...
(吉鸿昌; 1895–1934), Communist general, Chairman of
Ningxia
Ningxia (,; , ; alternately romanized as Ninghsia), officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), is an autonomous region in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in 1 ...
province
*
Ji Xingwen
Ji Xingwen (; 27 March 1907 – 26 August 1958), courtesy name Shaowu (), was a general in the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China. He fought in the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War and was killed in action d ...
(吉星文; 1908–1958),
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...
Communist Party Chief
A Party Committee Secretary () is the leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organization in a province, city, village, or other administrative unit. In most cases, it is the ''de facto'' highest political office of its area of jurisdictio ...
of
Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang () Postal romanization, formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a Provinces of China, province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is th ...
province
* Ji Lin (吉林; born 1962), Chairman of the Beijing Committee of the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...
*
Ji Xinpeng
Ji Xinpeng (; born 30 December 1977) is a retired Chinese badminton player.
Career
Ji Xinpeng is the first Chinese badminton player to win an Olympic gold medal in men's singles. Having never previously captured a top-tier event on the inter ...
(吉新鹏; born 1977), Olympic
badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...
gold medalist
* Ji Xiang (吉翔; born 1990), professional football player
* Ji Zhe (吉喆; 1986–2019), professional basketball player (
Beijing Ducks
The Beijing Shougang Ducks (''simplified Chinese'': 北京首钢鸭俱乐部篮球队), also known as Beijing Shougang or Beijing Ducks, are a professional basketball team based in Beijing, China, which plays in the North Division of the Chin ...