''Jī'' () was the

ancestral name In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name, ...

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 ...

which ruled China between the 11th and 3rd centuries BC. Thirty-nine members of the family ruled China during this period while many others ruled as local lords, lords who eventually gained great autonomy during the Spring and Autumn and

Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin wars of conquest ...

s. Ji is a relatively uncommon surname in modern China, largely because its bearers often adopted the names of their states and fiefs as new

surnames In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

. The character is composed of the radicals (

Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 12 ...

: ''nra'', "woman") and (OC: ''ɢ(r)ə'', "chin").Baxter, Wm. H. & Sagart, Laurent. '' '', pp. 61, 106, & 175. 2011. Accessed 11 October 2011. It is most likely a

phono-semantic compound All Chinese characters are logograms, but several different types can be identified, based on the manner in which they are formed or derived. There are a handful which derive from pictographs () and a number which are ideographic () in origin, inc ...

, with ''nra'' common in the earliest Zhou-era family names and ''ɢ(r)ə'' marking a rhyme of (OC: ''K(r)ə''). The legendary and historical record shows the Zhou Ji clan closely entwined with the

Jiang Jiang may refer to: * ''Jiang'' (rank), rank held by general officers in the military of China *Jiang (surname), several Chinese surnames **Jiang Zemin (1926–2022), as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party *Jiang River, an ancient riv ...

(), who seem to have provided many of the Ji lords' high-ranking spouses. A popular theory in recent Chinese scholarship has suggested that they represented two important clans the Ji originally centered on the

Fen River The Fen River drains the center of Shanxi Province, China. It originates in the Guancen Mountains of Ningwu County in northeast Shanxi, flows southeast into the basin of Taiyuan, and then south through the central valley of Shanxi before tur ...

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

and the Jiang around the Wen River in

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), Ning ...

whose union produced the Zhou state ruled by

Old Duke Danfu King Tai of Zhou () or Gugong Danfu () was a great leader of the Zhou clan during the Shang dynasty. His great-grandson Fa would later conquer the Shang and establish the Zhou dynasty. Name "King Tai" was a posthumous name bestowed upon him by ...

, although the theory remains problematic. In the family hymns recorded in the ''Classic of Poetry'', the Ji (姬) family is traced from the

miraculous birth Stories of miraculous births often include conceptions by miraculous circumstances and features such as intervention by a deity, supernatural elements, astronomical signs, hardship or, in the case of some mythologies, complex plots related to ...

of the

Xia dynasty The Xia dynasty () is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, the Xia dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great, after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors, gave the throne to him. In tradi ...

culture hero and court official

Houji Hou Ji (or Houji; ) was a legendary Chinese culture hero credited with introducing millet to humanity during the time of the Xia dynasty.. Millet was the original staple grain of northern China, prior to the introduction of wheat. His name transla ...

caused by his

mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ge ...

's stepping into a footprint left by the supreme god

Shangdi Shangdi (), also written simply, "Emperor" (), is the Chinese term for "Supreme Deity" or "Highest Deity" in the theology of the classical texts, especially deriving from Shang theology and finding an equivalent in the later ''Tian'' ("Heaven ...

.'' Book of Songs''. III.2.1. The ''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...

'' instead make Houji the son of the

Emperor Ku Kù (, variant graph ), usually referred to as Dì Kù (), also known as Gaoxin or Gāoxīn Shì () or Qūn (), was a descendant of the Yellow Emperor. He went by the name Gaoxin until receiving imperial authority, when he took the name Ku and th ...

, descendant of

Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Sovereig ...

. Sima Qian. ''

''. It is sometimes listed as one of the

Eight Great Surnames of Chinese Antiquity The eight great surnames of Chinese antiquity were among the most important Chinese surnames in Chinese antiquity. They are all Chinese ancestral surnames, and as such have Chinese clan surnames branching off from them During the earliest Chine ...

, replacing when present.

Ancient rulers with the surname

*Kings of the

(周朝) *Rulers of the

State of Wu Wu (; Old Chinese: ''*'') was one of the states during the Western Zhou dynasty and the Spring and Autumn period. It was also known as Gouwu ( /''*''/) or Gongwu ( /''*''/) from the pronunciation of the local language. Wu was located at the ...

(吳), who claimed descent from

Taibo Taibo () (circa 1150 BCE), or Wu Taibo, was the eldest son of King Tai of Zhou and the legendary founder of the State of Wu. His exact birth and death dates are unknown. Biography According to Sima Qian, Taibo was the founder of the State of Wu ...

*Rulers of

Eastern Guo Eastern Guo () was a Chinese vassal state of the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046–770 BCE). According to transmitted ancient texts, after King Wu of Zhou destroyed the Shang Dynasty in 1046 BCE, his two uncles received grants of land. One, known ...

(東虢) and

Western Guo Western Guo () was a vassal state in China during the Zhou Dynasty. "Guo" was a kinship group that held at least five pieces of territory within the Zhou realm at various times. After King Wu of Zhou destroyed the Shang Dynasty in 1046 BCE, his u ...

(西虢), descended from Jili's two younger sons *Rulers of

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

(韓), descended from a son of

King Wen of Zhou King Wen of Zhou (; 1152–1050 BC, the Cultured King) was Count of Zhou during the late Shang dynasty in ancient China. Although frequently confused with his fourth son Duke of Zhou, also known as "Lord Zhou", they are different historical perso ...

*Rulers of

Teng Teng may refer to: * Teng (surname) (滕), a Chinese surname * Teng (state), an ancient Chinese state * Teng (mythology), a flying dragon in Chinese mythology *Teng County Teng County or Tengxian (; za, Dwngz Yen) is a county of eastern Guangx ...

, descended from a son of King Wen of Zhou *Rulers of Wey (卫), descended from a son of King Wen of Zhou *Rulers of Wei (魏), descended from a son of King Wen of Zhou *Rulers of the State of Liu (劉) from Duke Kang of Liu (劉康公), son of King Qing of Zhou *Rulers of Xing (邢), descended from Pengshu of Xing *Rulers of Cai (蔡), descended from

Cai Shu Du Cai Shu Du or Shu Du of Cai ( Chinese: , given name Du (), was the first ruler of the State of Cai. Du was the fifth son of King Wen of Zhou and his wife Taisi (). He had ten brothers and eight half-brothers. His elder brothers were Kao ( Boyi ...

*Rulers of

Cao Cao or CAO may refer to: Mythology *Cao (bull), a legendary bull in Meitei mythology Companies or organizations *Air China Cargo, ICAO airline designator CAO * CA Oradea, Romanian football club *CA Osasuna, Spanish football club * Canadian Asso ...

, descended from Cao Shu Zhenduo *Rulers of Jin state (晉), descended from

Tang Shu Yu Shu Yu of Tang (), ancestral name (姓): Ji (姬) given name (名): Yu (虞), and Ziyu (子於), was the founder of the State of Tang during the early Zhou Dynasty (1046–771 BC) of ancient China. The State of Tang would later be renamed Jin by ...

*Rulers of Lu (魯), descended from

Bo Qin Bo Qin ( Chinese: , p ''Bóqín''), also known as Qin Fu (禽父), was the founder of the State of Lu during the early Zhou dynasty. Born into the royal Ji family (), he was the eldest son of the Duke of Zhou. Instead of inheriting his ...

, son of the

Duke of Zhou Dan, Duke Wen of Zhou (), commonly known as the Duke of Zhou (), was a member of the royal family of the early Zhou dynasty who played a major role in consolidating the kingdom established by his elder brother King Wu. He was renowned for acting ...

*Rulers of Zheng *Rulers of

, which claimed descent from Han Wuzi, a grandson of

Marquis Mu of Jin Marquis Mu of Jin (), ancestral name Ji (姬), given name Feiwang (費王) or Fusheng (弗生), was the ninth ruler of the state of Jin during the Western Zhou Dynasty. After his father, Marquis Xian of Jin Marquis Xian of Jin (), ancestral ...

*Rulers of Shen (沈), from sons of

*Rulers of Xi (息) *Rulers of Yan (燕) from

Duke of Shao Shi, Duke Kang of Shao (died 1000 BC), or Ji Shi, also known as the Earl of Shao, was a high-ranking minister of the early Zhou dynasty. He was a younger brother of King Wu, the founding king of Zhou. Siding with his half-brother Duke of Zhou ...

, brother of

King Wu of Zhou King Wu of Zhou () was the first king of the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. The chronology of his reign is disputed but is generally thought to have begun around 1046 BC and ended three years later in 1043 BC. King Wu's ancestral name wa ...

*Rulers of Cen (岑), from Viscount Ji Qu, nephew of the

*Rulers of Xianyu (鮮虞), who dwelt among the Di.

Other notable people

*Ji Jin-chun (born 1877), Governor of Rehe and Suiyuan (1921–28), fought the Russians and the Japanese *Ji Hong-chang (born 1895), Governor of Ningxia and prominent Nationalist *

Ji Pengfei Ji Pengfei (simplified Chinese: 姬鹏飞; traditional Chinese: 姬鵬飛; pinyin: ''Jī Péngfēi''; February 2, 1910 – February 10, 2000) was a Chinese politician. Biography Ji Pengfei was born in Linyi, Yuncheng, Shanxi in 1910. He joined ...

(born 1910), a prominent Communist * Ji Shengde, former head of Chinese military intelligence

Other surnames adopted by descendants of Ji

* Any surname derived from the Zhou dynasty Ji-descent vassal states * Qiū (秋) * Wēng (翁) ** Hóng (洪) ** Jiāng (江) ** Fāng (方) ** Gōng (龚) **

Wāng Wāng (汪) is a Chinese surname. It was 104th of the ''Hundred Family Surnames'' poem, contained in the verse Yáo, Shào, Zhàn, Wāng (姚邵湛汪). In 2013, the Fuxi Cultural Association found the name to be the 60th most common in China ...

(汪)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ji (surname) Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames Eight Great Surnames of Chinese Antiquity