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 Gwai 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 142nd most common surname in China, with a population of 960,000. It is listed the 134th 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 ...

''.

Etymology

In ancient usage, the characters of ''

meng Meng may refer to: * Meng (surname) (孟), a Chinese surname * Master of Engineering (MEng or M.Eng.), an academic or professional master's degree in the field of engineering * , "M with hook", letter used in the International Phonetic Alphabet * ...

'' (孟), '' zhong'' (仲), '' shu'' (叔) and ''ji'' (季) were used to denote the first, second, third and fourth eldest sons in a family. The Chinese character Ji 季 is composed of two parts: 禾 (grain) and 子 (son), and originally means "young grain". Later it acquired the meaning of "the youngest", and was frequently used in the name or title of the youngest son (or daughter) of a family. It is from this usage that the character became a surname. According to analysis based on the early 11th-century dictionary '' Guangyun'', in

Middle Chinese Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese recorded in the '' Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expanded editions. The ...

the character was pronounced wi

Demographics

As of 2008, Ji 季 is the 142nd most common surname in China, shared by 960,000 people, or 0.077% of the Chinese population. It is concentrated in

East China East China () is a geographical and a loosely defined cultural region that covers the eastern coastal area of China. A concept abolished in 1978, for economical purposes the region was defined from 1949 to 1961 by the Chinese Central Govern ...

, including

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 its ca ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...

, and

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

. Jiangsu province alone accounts for 44% of the people surnamed Ji 季, followed by Zhejiang with 10%.

Origins

The main origin of the Ji 季 surname is the state of Lu during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. Prince You was commonly called Ji You (季友) as he was the youngest son of

Duke Huan of Lu Duke Huan of Lu (, died 694 BC) was from 711 to 694 BC the 15th ruler of the State of Lu during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. His ancestral name was Ji ( 姬), given name Yun (允) or Gui (軌), and Duke Huan was his posthumous ...

. After the death of his older brother Duke Zhuang of Lu, Ji You helped Duke Zhuang's son to ascend the throne as

Duke Xi of Lu Duke Xi of Lu () was the ruler of Lu from 659 BC to 627 BC in Spring and Autumn period. His name is Ji Shen (姬申). Xi, literally means "happy", is his posthumous name. The posthumous name "Xi" means that he was mediocre and behaved cautiously. ...

, and he became Duke Xi's chief minister. He was the founding patriarch of the Jisun clan, the most powerful of the Three Huan clans that dominated the politics of Lu for centuries to come. His descendants adopted Jisun, which was later shortened to Ji, as their surname. This source of Ji 季 is a branch of Ji 姬, the ancestral surname of the dukes of Lu. A second origin of the Ji surname was Jilian (季連), the first recorded ruler of the state of Chu. This origin of Ji is a branch of Mi 芈, the royal surname of Chu. Several other states 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 ...

, such as Qi and Wei, also had noble lineages that adopted Ji 季 as their surname.

Later adoption

During the

Ming 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 peop ...

and Qing dynasties, several

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

and Manchu clans adopted the Ji surname, and many Ji-surnamed people in

Northeast China Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of ...

are from this origin.

Notable people

* Ji You or Ji Chengzi ( 季成子; died 644 BC), Chief Minister of the state of Lu * Jisun Xingfu or Ji Wenzi ( 季文子; died 568 BC), grandson of Ji You, Chief Minister of Lu * Ji Bu (季布; 3rd century BC), a top general of

Xiang Yu Xiang Yu (, –202 BC), born Xiang Ji (), was the Hegemon-King (Chinese: 霸王, ''Bà Wáng'') of Western Chu during the Chu–Han Contention period (206–202 BC) of China. A noble of the Chu state, Xiang Yu rebelled against the Qin dyna ...

and later the

Han dynasty 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 ...

* Ji Zhenyi ( 季振宜; 1630–?),

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 ...

official, writer, and collector * Ji Zhichang ( 季芝昌; 1791–1860), Qing dynasty minister, general, and Governor of Shanxi province * Ji Yunqing ( 季云卿; 1868–1939), Shanghai gangster assassinated for collaborating with the Japanese during WWII *

Ji Xianlin Ji Xianlin (; August 6, 1911 – July 11, 2009) was a Chinese Indologist, linguist, paleographer, historian and writer who has been honored by the governments of both India and China. Ji was proficient in many languages including Chinese, Sanskr ...

(季羨林; 1911–2009), prominent linguist,

Indologist Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is ...

palaeographer Palaeography ( UK) or paleography ( US; ultimately from grc-gre, , ''palaiós'', "old", and , ''gráphein'', "to write") is the study of historic writing systems and the deciphering and dating of historical manuscripts, including the analysi ...

, and historian *

Ji Yunshi Ji Yunshi (, born September 1945) is a Chinese politician. He served in a variety of offices, including Governor of Jiangsu (1998–2002), Governor of Hebei (2002—2006), Vice-Minister for Human Resources and Social Security (2006–2011 ...

(季允石; born 1945), former Governor of

and

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 ...

provinces * Ji Jianye (季建业; born 1957), former Mayor of

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

* Yun-Fei Ji or Ji Yunfei (季云飞; born 1963), painter * Ji Mingyi (季铭义; born 1980), football player * Timothy Kwai or Ji Tinggang ( 季霆剛; born 1983), Hong Kong politician *

Ji Xiaobing Ji Xiaobing (; born 2 November 1987) is a Chinese actor. Career In 2010, Ji made his acting debut in the period family drama ''Family Reunion''. In 2011, Ji starred in the military drama ''The No. 1 Landmark''. In 2013, Ji gained recognition ...

(季肖冰; born 1987), actor * Ji Liping (季丽萍; born 1988), Olympic swimmer * Ji Xiaoxuan (季骁宣; born 1993), football player * Ji Jiafu (季加孚; born 1959), surgical oncologist

References

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