Zhuang (surname)

Zhuang (Chinese: ; Pinyin: Zhuāng; Wade-Giles: Chuang) is a Chinese surname. It ranked 73rd by population in a 1990 study [http://zhongwen.com/xingshi.htm] of 174,900 samples but dropped out of the top 100 in a 2006 study, which included 296 million samples [http://culture.163.com/06/0110/09/273JO40F00280003.html] .

According to the "Manuscript of the Words and Deeds of Virtuous Clans", people with the surname Zhuang are descendants of King Zhuang of the State of Chu in the Spring and Autumn period. The descendants adopted the posthumous title of King Zhuang as their surname. Another group of people with the surname Zhuang came from the State of Song. King Dai of Song was named Zhuang, and his offspring later took Zhuang as their family name.

From the Warring States period to the Qin and Han Dynasties, the surname Zhuang experienced two big changes. First, Zhuang Qiao, descendant of King Zhuang of Chu, went to attack Bashu State under orders, but he was blocked by Qin troops on his way home. He had no alternative but to proclaim himself king in Dian. Second, Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty was named Zhuang, therefore many people whose surname was Zhuang changed their surname so as to avoid the taboo on the personal name of Emperor Ming. In the period of Sixteen States, the Zhuang surname spread from Hubei and Hunan to other regions in the country, such as Gansu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Shandong.

There is no lack of celebrities in the Zhuang family circle: for instance, Zhuang Jia, a senior official with the State of Qi in the Spring and Autumn period; Zhuang Qiao, who proclaimed himself king in Dian in the Warring States period; Zhuang Ji, an expert on "poetic prose" in the Western Han Dynasty; Zhuang Chuo, a well-known writer in the Song Dynasty; Zhuang Su, who was famous for his rich collections of books in the Song and Yuan Dynasties; calligrapher Zhuang Yougong; Zhuang Cunyu and Zhuang Youke, experts on the study of Confucian classics; Zhuang Datian, leader of a peasant uprising; as well as Zhuang Tinglong, who led to the incident of the "Ming History Inquisition" — imprisonment of him for compiling the History of Ming Dynasty, considered offensive by the imperial court in Qing Dynasty; and chemist Zhuang Changgong in contemporary times.

Famous people with the surname (//)

*Zhuang Zedong Chinese table tennis player, 3-time world men's singles champion, a member of the Chinese national team during the Ping Pong Diplomacy.
*Zhuang Andrew A Talented Volleyballer coming from Melbourne, Australia. Well known for his emotional disorders.

External links

* [http://english.people.com.cn/200507/07/eng20050707_194653.html Chinese Zhuang surname history]