Jí 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 Zik 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 listed 275th 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 ...

''. It is not among the 300 most common surnames in China.

Origin

According to the '' Zuo Zhuan'' and the

encyclopedia '' Tongzhi'', the surname Ji 籍 originated from Bo Yan ( 伯黡), a chief minister of the state of Jin, a major power of the Spring and Autumn period. Boyan was in charge of government records, and was commonly referred to as Ji Yan (''ji'' 籍 means record). His descendants adopted Ji as their surname. During the Chu–Han Contention, many people surnamed Ji 籍 changed their surname to Xi 席 because of

naming taboo A naming taboo is a cultural taboo against speaking or writing the given names of exalted persons, notably in China and within the Chinese cultural sphere. It was enforced by several laws throughout Imperial China, but its cultural and possibly r ...

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 ...

, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, whose given name was Ji 籍.

Notable people

*Bo Yan (伯黡) or Ji Yan, chief minister of the state of Jin *Ji Yan or Ji You ( 籍偃, fl. 6th century BC), official serving under Duke Dao of Jin *Ji Tan ( 籍谈, fl. 6th century BC), son of Ji You, official serving under Duke Ping of Jin *Ji Qin ( 籍秦, fl. 6th century BC), a younger son of Ji You, official serving under Duke Qing of Jin * Ji Ru (籍孺),

Western 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 war ...

eunuch *Ji Zhongyin ( 籍忠寅; 1877–1930),

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 ...

and Republic of China politician * Ji Xiaocheng (籍孝诚; 1923–2019), paediatrician, introduced perinatal medicine to China

References

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