Wen is the

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 ...

romanisation 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 ...

文 (Wén). 文 (Wén), meaning "literary" or "culture", is usually romanised as Man 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 ...

(most widely used by those from Hong Kong), and sometimes as Mann. In

Min Min or MIN may refer to: Places * Fujian, also called Mǐn, a province of China ** Min Kingdom (909–945), a state in Fujian * Min County, a county of Dingxi, Gansu province, China * Min River (Fujian) * Min River (Sichuan) * Mineola (Amtr ...

(including the

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 ...

, Teochew, and

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 ...

dialects), the name is pronounced Boon. In the

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 ...

, the name can be romanized as Vun or Voon. The Gan dialect transcription for the name is Mun. Other romanizations include Văn in Vietnamese, Moon or Mun (Hangul: 문) in Korean and Bun (Hiragana: ぶん) in Japanese.

Origins

* from Wen (文), the posthumous title of king King Wen of Zhou, father of King Wu of Zhou who established the Western Zhou dynastyThe Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland * adopted in place of another surname, Jing (敬) due to a naming taboo, as the latter was part of the name of two royal personages, Jin Gao Zu (called Shi Jingtang, 石敬瑭) and Song Yi Zu (called Zhao Jing, 趙敬). The latter was the grandfather of Zhao Kuangying (known as

Emperor Taizu of Song Emperor Taizu of Song (21 March 927 – 14 November 976), personal name Zhao Kuangyin, courtesy name Yuanlang, was the founder and first emperor of the Song dynasty of China. He reigned from 960 until his death in 976. Formerly a distinguish ...

), who established 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 ...

. * from Wen (文), the given name of Tian Wen, also called

Lord Mengchang Lord Mengchang (; died 279 BC), born Tian Wen, was an aristocrat and statesman of the Qi Kingdom of ancient China, one of the famed Four Lords of the Warring States period. He was a son of Tian Ying and grandson of King Wei of Qi. He succeeded ...

, a prince of Qi, known as one of ‘the four princes’ during the Warring States period * from the personal name Wen Zi (文子), a general who lived in Wei during the Spring and Autumn period. * from the personal name Wen Shu (文叔), the founder of the Xu (许) located in present-day Henan province) during the Western Zhou dynasty.

Notable people named Wen

Historical figures

* Wen Zhong (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

c. 496 BC), advisor in the state of Yue *

Wen Ping Wen Ping ( third century), courtesy name Zhongye, was a military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of China. During his tenure as a general under the warlord Cao Cao, he was credited with defeating ...

, military general of the Cao Wei state in the Three Kingdoms period * Wen Chou (died 200), military general under Han dynasty warlord Yuan Shao *

Wen Qin Wen Qin (died February or March 258), courtesy name Zhongruo, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He served as the Inspector of Yang Province during the reign of th ...

(died 257), military general of the Cao Wei state in the Three Kingdoms period * Wen Zhenheng (1585–1645 AD), Ming dynasty painter, scholar * Wen Yanbo (Song dynasty) (1006-1097), politician and calligraphist of Northern Song dynasty * Wen Tianxiang (1236–1283), chancellor of the Southern Song dynasty * Wen Zhengming (1470–1559), Ming dynasty calligrapher *

Wen Yang (disambiguation) Wen Yang may refer to: *Wen Yang (Three Kingdoms) Wen Chu (238–291), courtesy name Ciqian, better known as Wen Yang, was a military officer of the Jin dynasty of China. He previously served in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms pe ...

, several people

Other people

* Wen Junhui (stage name: Jun), Chinese member of the South Korean boyband Seventeen * Moon Jae-in, 19th president of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

* Jennifer Wen, 21st-century professor of engineering and fire research

Fiction

Wen Zhong (Shang dynasty) Wen Zhong () is a character in the classic Chinese novel ''Fengshen Yanyi''. Wen Zhong had been the top ranked official under King Da Yi since the times of old. Following the death of Da Yi, Wen Zhong crowned Zi Shou as the new king of the Shan ...

, fiction character from the ancient novel ''Fengshen Yanyi''

Origins

Notable people named Wen

Historical figures

Other people

Fiction

References

See also