Zu is the Mandarin

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 Tsu 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 ...

. It is listed 249th 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 ...

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

Notable people

Zu Ti Zu Ti (266–321), courtesy name Shizhi, was a Chinese military general of the Jin dynasty. Between 313 and 321, he commanded an expeditionary force to reclaim territory in northern China that were lost during the Upheaval of the Five Barbaria ...

( 祖逖; 266–321), celebrated

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 *

Zu Yue Zu Yue (祖約) (after 266 - March to April 330), courtesy name Shishao, was a Chinese military general and warlord of the Jin dynasty. He was the younger brother of the famed Jin general Zu Ti who marched north to reclaim lost lands from the ...

( 祖約; died 330), Eastern Jin general, younger brother of Zu Ti * Zu Chongzhi (429–500),

Liu Song Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern Dynasty (南朝宋) in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. ...

dynasty mathematician and astronomer *

Zu Gengzhi Zu Geng or Zu Gengzhi (; ca. 480 – ca. 525) was a Chinese mathematician, politician, and writer. His courtesy name was Jingshuo (). He was the son of the famous mathematician Zu Chongzhi. He is known principally for deriving and proving the for ...

(450? – 520?), mathematician, son of Zu Chongzhi *

Zu Ting Zu Ting (; ; ?-?), courtesy name Xiaozheng (孝征), was an official of the Chinese Northern Qi dynasty (550–577). He was renowned for his literary and administrative talents. Background Zu Ting's father Zu Ying (祖瑩) was a general during ...

(6th century), scholar-official of the

Northern Qi Qi, known as the Northern Qi (), Later Qi (後齊) or Gao Qi (高齊) in historiography, was a Chinese imperial dynasty and one of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It ruled the eastern part of northern China ...

dynasty *

Zu Xiaosun Zu Xiaosun () was a Chinese musician of the Sui and Tang dynasties. During the Kaihuang reign period (581–600) of Emperor Wen of Sui he was appointed as ''Xielülang'' (协律郎), joined the melodizing of ritual music, and received orders ...

(6th – 7th century), Sui and

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 ...

musician *

Zu Yong Zu Yong (699–746?) was a Chinese poet of the High Tang period. His courtesy name is unknown. He attained a ''jinshi'' degree in the imperial examination in 724, but left the capital to live a pastoral life, and composed his most famous poem ...

(699–746?), Tang dynasty poet * Zu Dashou (died 1656),

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

general who surrendered to the

Qing 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-speak ...

* Zu Zhiwang ( 祖之望; 1754–1813), Qing dynasty Governor of

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangx ...

and

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 ...

provinces * John B. Tsu (1924–2005), Chinese academic and lobbyist for Asians in the United States * Jidi or Zu Yale (born 1983), cartoonist and illustrator

References

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