''Jī'' () was the

ancestral name 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 ...

of the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...

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 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 ...

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 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 giv ...

. 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 language, Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones ...

: ''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 Chinese characters are generally logographs, but can be further categorized based on the manner of their creation or derivation. Some characters may be analysed structurally as compounds created from smaller components, while some are not decomp ...

, with ''nra'' common in the earliest Zhou-era

family names 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 ...

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 (), 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 turni ...

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

and the Jiang around the

Wei River The Wei River () is a major river in west-central China's Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. It is the largest tributary of the Yellow River and very important in the early development of Chinese civilization. In ancient times, such as in the Records ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

whose union produced the Zhou state ruled by Old Duke Danfu, 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 of the

Xia dynasty The Xia dynasty (; ) is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, it was established by the legendary figure Yu the Great, after Emperor Shun, Shun, the last of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, Fiv ...

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 trans ...

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 ges ...

's stepping into a footprint left by the supreme god

Shangdi Shangdi (), also called simply Di (), is the name of the Chinese Highest Deity or "Lord Above" in the Chinese theology, theology of the classical texts, especially deriving from Shang dynasty, Shang theology and finding an equivalent in the lat ...

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

Records of the Grand Historian The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...

'' 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 t ...

, descendant of

Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch, or Huangdi ( zh, t=黃帝, s=黄帝, first=t) in Chinese, is a mythical Chinese sovereign and culture hero included among the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. He is revered as ...

Sima Qian Sima Qian () was a Chinese historian during the early Han dynasty. He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for the ''Shiji'' (sometimes translated into English as ''Records of the Grand Historian''), a general history of China cov ...

. ''

''. 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 surname Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicization, Sinicized ethnic groups in Greater China, Korea, Vietnam and among overseas Chinese communit ...

, replacing when present.

Ancient rulers with the surname

*Kings of the

*Rulers of the

State of Wu Wu () was a state during the Western Zhou dynasty and the Spring and Autumn period, outside the Zhou cultural sphere. It was also known as Gouwu () or Gongwu () from the pronunciation of the local language. Wu was located at the mouth of th ...

, 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 W ...

*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, kno ...

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, hi ...

, descended from Jili's two younger sons, Zhong of (Eastern) Guo and Shu of (Western) Guo *Rulers of Han, descended from a son of

King Wen of Zhou King Wen of Zhou ( zh, c=周文王, p=Zhōu Wén Wáng; 1152–1050 BC, the Cultured King) was the posthumous title given to Ji Chang ( zh, c=姬昌), the patriarch of the Zhou state during the final years of Shang dynasty in ancient China. J ...

*Rulers of Teng, descended from Shu Xiu of Cuo (Teng), a son of King Wen of Zhou *Rulers of Wey, descended from Shu of Wey–Kang, a son of King Wen of Zhou *Rulers of Wei, descended from a son of King Wen of Zhou *Rulers of the State of Liu ( from Duke Kang of Liu (), son of

King Qing of Zhou King Qing of Zhou (), personal name Ji Renchen, was a king of China's Zhou dynasty. The son of King Xiang, King Qing ascended to the throne in 618 BC after his father died. King Qing had three sons, Princes Ban (King Kuang), Yu and Jizi. After ...

*Rulers of

Xing Xing may refer to: * an abbreviation for crossing such as Pedestrian crossing, Pedestrian Xing or Wildlife crossing, Wildlife Xing, primarily used in North America * Chinese surname (姓, ''xing'') * Xing (surname) (邢), a Chinese surname * Xing ...

, descended from Pengshu of Xing *Rulers of Cai, descended from

Cai Shu Du Cai Shu Du or Shu Du of Cai ( zh, c=, l=Du, oyalUncle of Cai), given name Du (), was the first ruler of the State of Cai. Du was the fifth son of King King Wen of Zhou, Wen of Western Zhou, Zhou and his wife Taisi (). He had ten brothers and ...

*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 ...

, descended from Shu Zhenduo of Cao *Rulers of Jin state, descended from

Shu Yu of Tang Ji Yu, commonly known as "Yu, oyalUncle of Tang" (), was the founder of the Tang state (later renamed "Jin" by his son and successor, Ji Xie). He was a son of King Wu of Zhou and Yi Jiang and the younger brother of King Cheng of Zhou. He was a ...

*Rulers of Lu, descended from

Bo Qin Bo Qin (), also known as Qin Fu (禽父), also known by his posthumous name as the Duke Tai of Lu (魯太公), was the founder of the Lu state, a dynastic vassal state of the Zhou dynasty. Born into the royal Ji family, he was the eldest son of ...

, 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 as ...

*Rulers of Zheng *Rulers of

Hann Hann may refer to: People * Adam Hann-Byrd (born 1982), American actor * Allie Hann-McCurdy (born 1987), Canadian ice dancer * Chris Hann (born 1953), British social anthropologist * David Hann (born 1952), American politician * Della Hann, Am ...

, which claimed descent from

Wuzi of Hann Han Wan (), also known by his posthumous name as the Viscount Wu of Han, was the first leader of Han clan in the Jin state. He was the son of Huan Shu of Quwo, half-brother of Count Zhuang of Quwo, and the progenitor of the Han state. Han Wan ...

, a grandson of

Marquis Mu of Jin Marquis Mu of Jin (), personal name Ji Feiwang, was a monarch of the Jin state. He succeeded his father, Marquis Xian, to the throne of Jin. In 808 BC, Marquis Mu married a woman from the royal family of Qi to be one of his concubines. In 805 ...

*Rulers of Shen, from sons of

*Rulers of Xi *Rulers of Yan from

Duke of Shao Shi, Duke of Shao (died 1000 ), born Ji Shi, posthumous name Kang (), also known as Lord Shao or Duke of Shao, was a high-ranking minister of the early Zhou dynasty. He was a member of the royal clan, the founding lineage head of the state of Ya ...

, brother of

King Wu of Zhou King Wu of Zhou (; died ), personal name Ji Fa, was the founding king of the Chinese Zhou dynasty. The chronology of his reign is disputed but is generally thought to have begun around 1046 BCE and ended with his death three years later. Ki ...

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

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

Other notable people

* Ji Pengfei (1910–2000), 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

{{surname Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames Eight Great Surnames of Chinese Antiquity