Zhao (surname)

Zhao / Chao / Chiu
Language(s)	Chinese
Origin
Meaning	Name of a feudal state during the Zhou Dynasty
Other names
Variant(s)	Cho, Triệu

Zhao
"Zhao" in seal script (top), Traditional (middle), and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	趙
Simplified Chinese	赵
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhào Wade–Giles Chao4 IPA [ʈʂâu] Wu Suzhounese Zâu Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Jiuh Jyutping Ziu6 Southern Min Tâi-lô Tiō Middle Chinese Middle Chinese ɖjéu Old Chinese Baxter–Sagart (2014) *[d]rewʔ
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	Triệu
Korean name
Hangul	조
Transcriptions Revised Romanization Jo

Zhao (/dʒaʊ/;^[1] traditional Chinese: 趙; simplified Chinese: 赵; pinyin: Zhào), romanized in Taiwan and Hong Kong as Chao, also elsewhere as Cho, Chiu, Tio, and various other forms, is a Chinese family name, ranking as the 7th most common surname in Mainland China and carried mainly by people of Mandarin-speaking regions. Zhao is the 1st surname in the famous Hundred Family Surnames – the traditional list of all Chinese surnames – because it was the emperor's surname of the Song Dynasty (960–1279) when the list was compiled.

The romanized spelling is shared with the much rarer family name Zhào (兆).

History

Zhao is one of the most ancient of Chinese surnames, and its origins are partly shrouded in legend. During the reign of King Mu of Zhou (976/956 BC – 922/918 BC), an officer named Zaofu (Chinese: 造父) proved exceptionally adept at training horses and driving chariots and won the respect of King Mu. During a battle with the eastern state of Xu, an ethnically different state which was resisting Zhou rule, Zaofu drove a chariot into the battle and escorted King Mu back to the Zhou capital. In gratitude, King Mu enfeoffed Zaofu as the lord of Zhao, a town in what is now Hongdong County, Shanxi Province, to be held by his descendants in perpetuity. Zaofu's descendants took Zhao as a surname to mark their prestigious association with the city. Records such as Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian say that Zaofu was a descendant of legendary kings Zhuanxu, Shaohao, and the Yellow Emperor.

The town Zhao became part of the state of Jin during the Warring States period, when the Zhou Dynasty began to collapse. In 403 BC, Jin split into three smaller states, one of which was the state of Zhao.

The Zhao clan rulers of State of Qin and State of Zhao were highly successful, and State of Zhao were one of the last major states conquered by the State of Qin during its unification of China.

As with all ancient Chinese surnames, the Zhao family was constantly added to by marriages, its bestowal upon commoners for meritorious deeds, and its adoption by non-Chinese peoples assimilated into Han Chinese culture. The Zhao name experienced a great revival after Zhao Kuangyin became the first emperor of the Song Dynasty in 960 AD, leading to 300 years of Zhao rule over China. Notably, it is during this dynasty that the famous Hundred Family Surnames – the traditional list of all Chinese surnames – was compiled, leading the surname Zhao, that of the royal house, to be the first name listed.

However, some cadet clans on the mainland have genealogy records preserved from the Cultural Revolution as well as some Hata clans of Japan, which could trace back to a significant amount of generations to verify the authenticity of the bloodline.

Relation with the Gioro Clan

After the fall of the Northern Song dynasty, the emeritus emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) and his son emperor Qinzong (Zhao Huan) were captured by the Jurchen people in Jingkang Incident along with the rest of the remaining members of the Northern Song royal house who were forced into exile in Manchuria. Huizong's third brother Zhao Si King Yue (越王赵偲) lived in Gioro and was the founder of the Gioro clan in which the Qing Imperial Family Aisin-Gioros (愛新覺羅) and Irgen Gioro are cadet branches.

The rise of the Qing Dynasty occurred following the Battle of the Shanhai Pass. The historical context can be summarized in a poem to illustrate the three parties involved:

朱家麵﹐李家磨﹐ 做成一個大饃饃﹐ 送給對巷趙大哥。

The poem above is translated as: Zhu family's flour, Li family's mill produce a big bun, which is handed to big brother Zhao.

Zhu (朱) refers to the surname of the Ming Dynasty royals who lost control of China. Li (李) refers to Li Zicheng, the first Emperor of the Shun Dynasty who briefly gained control of China. The Aisin Gioro Clan of the Qing Dynasty are referred to as big brother Zhao (趙), which is the surname of their ancestors from the captured Northern Song Royal family.

Evolution of the Zhao clan

Modern Culture

In Lu Xun's novel The True Story of Ah Q, Ah Q said he belonged to the same clan as Mr. Zhao, who was an honored landlord of the village. Mr. Zhao was very angry. He slapped Ah Q's face and said, 'How could you be named Zhao!—Do you think you are worthy of the name Zhao?'^[2]

Since 2015 or earlier, in Chinese internet, Zhao became the intimation of Communist Party of China and 'State of Zhao' became the intimation of China. Similarly, 'The Zhao Family' refers to the dignitaries of China, and "The Zhao's Army" refers to People's Liberation Army.^[3] 'How could you be named Zhao!' is popular to satirize the people who are humble but pretend to be powerful.

In 2016, the blog writer Program Think set up a GitHub project named Zhao.^[4] The project collects the relationships among more than 700 people in over 130 families include Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and many other high level government officials of Communist Party of China. Cyber Security Association of China requested GitHub to remove the project.^[5] Error status code 451 would be reached if the connection request to the project is from China.

Prominent people with the family name

References

• Chen, Kangqi (1997). 郎潜纪闻初笔二笔三笔 (Langqian Notes 1st, 2nd and 3rd Edition). Zhonghua Book Company. ISBN 9787101017021.
• Du, Jiaji (2008). 八旗与清朝政治论稿 (The Political Papers of Eight Banners and Qing Dynasty). Renmin Publishing House. ISBN 9787010067537.
• Hu, Zengyi (1994). 新满汉大词典 (A Comprehensive Manchu-Chinese Dictionary). Xinjiang People's Publishing House. ISBN 9787228024049.
• Hungjeo (2002). 八旗满洲氏族通谱 (Eight Manchu Banners' Surname-Clans' Book). Liaohai Publishing House. ISBN 9787806691892.
• Jin, Guangping; Jin, Qicong; Ulhicun (1996). 爱新觉罗氏三代满学论集 (The Paper Collection of Three Generations of Aisin Gioro). Yuanfang Publishing House. ISBN 9787805951485.
• Jin, Qicong (2009). 金启孮谈北京的满族 (Jin Qicong Talks About Beijing Manchus). Zhonghua Book Company. ISBN 7101068561.
• Jooliyan (1980). 啸亭杂录 (Xiaoting Various Records). Zhonghua Book Company. ISBN 9787101017519.
• Xu, Ke (1986). 清稗类钞 (Classified Collection of Qing Notes). Zhonghua Book Company. ISBN 9787101010732.
• Yang, Tonggui (1933). 沈故 (Old Story of Shenyang). Liaohai Book Company.
• Zhao, Erxun (2009). 清史稿 (Draft History of Qing). Zhonghua Book Compary. ISBN 9787101007503.
• Zhao, Li (2012). 满族姓氏寻人辞典 (Dictionary and Origin of Manchu Family Names). Liaoning Nationality Publishing House. ISBN 9787549702862.
• Zhao, Yi; Yao, Yuanzhi (1997). 簷曝杂记 竹叶亭杂记 (Yanpu Various Notes & Zhuyeting Various Notes). Zhonghua Book Company. ISBN 9787101017489.
• “赵氏”撰写《红楼梦》
• Frederic, Louis (2002). "Japan Encyclopedia." Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
• Rimer, J. Thomas and Yamazaki Masakazu trans. (1984). "On the Art of the Nō Drama: The Major Treatises of Zeami." Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
• Teshima, Ikuro (1973). The Ancient Refugees From Religious Persecution in Japan: The Tribe of Hada – Their Religious and Cultural Influence. 1.
• Shinsen Shōjiroku "出自秦始皇帝三世孫孝武王也"
• McCullough, William H. (1999). "The capital and its society". The Cambridge History of Japan, Volume 2: Heian Japan. Cambridge University Press. p. 98. ISBN 0-521-22353-9.
• McCullough, William H. (1999). "The capital and its society". The Cambridge History of Japan, Volume 2: Heian Japan. Cambridge University Press. p. 97–98. ISBN 0-521-22353-9.
• Ben Ami-Shillony, The Jews and the Japanese: The Successful Outsiders, pp. 135–7 (Rutland, VT: Tuttle, 1991)
• Dual origins of the Japanese: common ground for hunter-gatherer and farmer Y chromosomes. pdf

External links

• Chinese Zhao surname history