Ouyang

Ouyang (simplified Chinese: 欧阳; traditional Chinese: 歐陽; pinyin: Oūyáng also spelled Owyang, Au Yong, Auyong, Ah Yong, Auyang, Au Yeung, Au Yeong, Au Ieong, Ao Ieong, Eoyang, Oyong, O'Young, Auwjong, Ojong, Owyong, Au Duong, Ou Young) is one of the most common two-character Chinese compound surnames in the world. However, it is not one of the top two hundred Chinese surnames, as documented by the Language Publication Society, Beijing in 1990. Ouyang constitutes one of the twenty-odd two-character surnames that have survived in modern times.

History

The Song Dynasty historian Ouyang Xiu traced the Ouyang surname to Di (蹄, Pinyin: Tí), a prince of Yue, the second son of King Wujiang (無彊/无疆). After his state was extinguished by the state of Chu, Di and his family was living in the south side of the Mount Ouyu (欧余山, currently called Mount Sheng 升山 in Huzhou, Zhejiang). In Chinese the south side of a mountain or the north bank of a river is called Yang (阳), thus the Di family was called Ouyang. He was called Marquis of Ouyang Ting (欧阳亭侯). Traditionally, Di's ancestry can be traced through his father Wujiang, the King of Yue, to the semi-legendary Yu the Great (大禹).

Geographical origins

In terms of distribution Ouyangs have mostly been confined to southern China, especially the areas of southern Jiangxi, central Hubei and eastern Henan, with smaller pockets in Guangdong, Sichuan, Hunan and Guangxi.

Daling (大嶺), near Zhongshan City in Guangdong, China has been documented of having extensive History of Owyang, family records and family trees have been created and distributed to family members around the globe, commonly known as the Owyang Genealogy Book (hardbound, blue cover).

Notable clans

The most prominent of the Ouyang clans historically was undoubtedly that of Yongfeng (永丰) in Jiangxi, which produced a number of scholars who reached prominence in the imperial bureaucracy. Genealogical lineages and family trees have been established for a number of Ouyang clans around China, showing migration patterns from the Song to the Qing Dynasty.

Immigration outside of China

There was a large immigration of Ouyang's in the late 19th century and early 20th century to the San Francisco Bay area, Sacramento Delta Area. In summer of 2005, the first extended Ouyang family reunion was held in Locke, near Sacramento. Over 200 Ouyangs attended and included speeches, sharing, family trees and documentation. This group continues to communicate using Ouyang Yahoo! Groups and spans members from across North America and beyond.

Famous people with this surname

• Ouyang Ziyuan Chinese cosmochemist and geochemist, chief scientist in charge of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program
• Ouyang Xiu Song Dynasty scholar
• Ouyang Xun Tang Dynasty scholar
• Tim Ouyang, lead singer for the group Tim Be Told
• P. K. Ojong, co-founder of Indonesian newspaper Kompas
• Michael T. Owyang, Ph.D. Economist
• Chung Owyang, M.D.
• Jin Au-Yeung, Hip Hop Artist
• Bobby Au-Yeung, Hong Kong actor
• Au Yeung Yiu Chung, a Hong Kong footballer got 2009 East Asian Games gold medal
• Byron Au Yong Composer
• J.H. Au-Yong, MSc, a fellow researcher, http://turbo-dsr.blogspot.com
• Ouyang Yongle, D.Comp.L., Researcher in Chinese Constitutional Law.
• Sharon Owyang, film production, book author http://imdb.com/name/nm0654537/
• Lucille Ouyang, assistant director of many major movie titles http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0653716/
• Juliet Ouyoung, costume designer http://www.jouyoung.com/ http://imdb.com/name/nm0653718/
• Darryl O'Young, Canadian-born Hong Kong racing driver
• Eric Owyoung, lead musician for the rock alternative band Future of Forestry (formerly known as Something Like Silas), http://futureofforestry.com/
• Stephanie Owyang, notable photographer