Zhuang is the

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

romanization In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Latin script, Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and tra ...

of the

Chinese surname Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicization, Sinicized ethnic groups in Greater China, Korea, Vietnam and among overseas Chinese communities around the world such as Singapore and Malaysia. Written Chinese names begin with surnames, ...

written in

Traditional Chinese A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

and in

Simplified Chinese Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to: Mathematics Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one that is simpler (usually shorter), according to a well-founded ordering. Examples include: ...

. It is usually romanized as "Chuang" in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

in the Wade-Giles system. It is spoken in the first tone: ''Zhuāng''. Zhuang is listed 323rd in the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

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 language , Chinese text composed of common Chinese surnames. An unknown author compiled the book ...

''. As of 2008, it is the 113th most common surname in China, shared by 1.6 million people.

Romanizations

Zhuang is romanized as Chuang in the Wade-Giles system usually employed in

and among the

Chinese diaspora Overseas Chinese people are people of Chinese origin who reside outside Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan). As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. As of 2023, there were 10.5 million people livin ...

. It is romanized Chong in

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

; Chng, Tsng, or Ching in

Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...

. In Vietnamese, the

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

formerly written as in ''

Chữ Hán ( , ) are the Chinese characters that were used to write Literary Chinese in Vietnam, Literary Chinese (; ) and Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary in Vietnamese language, Vietnamese. They were officially used in Vietnam after the Red River Delta region ...

'' is now written Trang; in Korean, the

formerly written as in

Hanja Hanja (; ), alternatively spelled Hancha, are Chinese characters used to write the Korean language. After characters were introduced to Korea to write Literary Chinese, they were adapted to write Korean as early as the Gojoseon period. () ...

is now written and

romanized In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...

as Jang; in Japanese, the

written in

Kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

Shō. In Thai, it is written as จึง ( RTGS: ).

Distribution

As of 2008, Zhuang is the 113th most common surname in mainland China, shared by 1.6 million people. It has been ranked the 24th-most-common surname on

. Zhuang is a rather uncommon name in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It was ranked 53,245th during the 1990 census and 31,703rd in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. Chuang is more common, having been ranked 24,816th in 1990 and 11,621st in 2000. The variant spellings Chong, Ching, and Tong are all much more common, but include other Chinese surnames as well.

History

The pronunciation of has been reconstructed as ''*tsraŋ'' in

Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese language, Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones ...

and ''Tsrjang'' in

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

; its original meaning was "dignified" and "grave".Baxter, Wm. H. & Sagart, Laurent. '' '', p. 158. 2011. Accessed 11 October 2011. As with many Chinese surnames, the current bearers come from a variety of origins, some legendary. The '' Manuscript of the Words and Deeds of Virtuous Clans'' claimed that the first Zhuangs were descended from King Zhuang of Chu.''People's Daily Online''.
Chinese Zhuang surname history
. 7 Jul 2005. Accessed 16 Apr 2012. Another group descended from Duke Dai of

Song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

, who was also known as Zhuang. During the

Warring States period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...

, the general Zhuang Qiao (庄跤) of Chu attacked Shu but was blocked from returning home by Qin troops. He proclaimed himself king of Dian. A third group were the subjects of this realm. All three groups found themselves bound to change their names to Yan () upon the ascension of the Han Ming Emperor, whose personal name was Zhuang, owing to the

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 ...

. Most did change back to Zhuang during the

Northern and Southern dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered a ...

era after Han dynasty but many still remain as Yan until today. By the period of the Sixteen States, however, the Zhuangs had spread from Lianghu to other regions such as

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

, and

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

Notable people with the surname

* Queenzy Cheng (1986–2023), Malaysian singer-actress * Michael Chong (born 1971), Canadian politician of Chinese descent * Zhuangzi (c. 369 BC–c. 286 BC) or Chuang Tzu, Taoist philosopher * Zhuang Chuo, a

-era writer *

Zhuang Cunyu Zhuang Cunyu (莊存與, 1719–1788) was a Chinese intellectual, and a representative of the Changzhou School of Thought, an important proponent of the New Text Confucianism. ''Jinshi'' degree holder (1745), secretary to the Qianlong Emperor. Bac ...

, Confucian scholar * Zhuang Datian, leader of a peasant rebellion * Zhuang Ji, a Han-era writer and critic * Zhuang Jia (Qi), a Qi official executed for insubordination * Zhuang Jia (rebel), assassin of Chen Sheng * Zhuang Qiao, Chu general and king of Dian * Zhuang Tinglong, scholar imprisoned for completing the '' History of the Ming Dynasty'' * Xiaowei Zhuang * Chuang Che, a Chinese artist * Zhuang Zedong, world table tennis champion * JJ Zhuang, tech entrepreneur and computer programmer * Zhuang Kezhu, lieutenant general of the PLA Air Force * Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, Thai model and actress *

Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit (, ; born 25 November 1978) is a Thai businessman, politician, and activist who served as the leader of the Future Forward Party from 2018 to 2020. From 2002 to 2018, he was the vice president of the Thai Summit ...

, Thai businessman, politician and activist

References

{{101-200 Most Common Family Names in Mainland China Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames