Yin (surname)

----"(Please note that "Yin" is usually a transliteration of a word from the Mandarin dialect — its cognate in another Chinese dialect may be pronounced differently, and thus spelled as Yuan for example. Also, the Yin surname as it is spelled in English, may refer to a number of different Chinese words/surnames pronounced yin, such as" 殷 " or " 尹 " — both are rare Chinese surnames.)"----

The Yin (尹) surname

Yin (zh-cp|c=尹|p=Yīn; was originally a pictogram of a royal headdress. It was first used in 2,597 BC by the son of Shao Hao (one of 5 kings in the "pre-China" Five Kings era), who took on the surname and became the Duke of Yin (a village in northeast China). In 1,783 BC, the Shang Dynasty created the Position of Yin (equivalent to First Minister, most-favored Minister, or Lord Protector). Lord Yi Chi of the Hua tribe helped orchestrate a near-bloodless coup bringing the Shang Dynasty to power, was rewarded with this title, and changed his name to Yi Yin (). In 800 BC, Bo Jifu, a renowned judge during the reign of Zhou Xuan Wang, also held this position, and changed his name to Yin Jifu.During the era of the Imperial Examination System, three other magistrates took on the surname Yin (尹) to denote their Imperial rank and royally-favored status. Yin settlements in China can be found south-west of Tonghui in Gansu Province, as well as in the Pearl River Delta. The Yins are/were exempt from China's One-child Policy due to the rarity of their surname and reverence for their historical role.

Famous people with Yin (尹) surname

*Yin Fu — creator of a sub-branch of the Bagua martial art, bodyguard to the Empress Dowager Cixi, personal trainer of the Emperor
*Yin Han and Yin Zhen — judges in the Han Dynasty
*Yin Lin — painter in the Tang Dynasty
*Yin Zhongke — judge in the Song Dynasty
*Yin Zhangsheng — painter in the Song Dynasty
*Yin Wen — personal tutor of princes in the Ming Dynasty

References for Yin (尹) surname

*http://www.yutopian.com/names/04/4yin91.html
*http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Myth/shang-rulers.html

The Yin (殷) surname

Yin (zh-cp|c=殷|p=Yīn; literally "flourishing" and "blood red") is a rare Chinese surname dating to the fall of the Yin (Shang) Dynasty in 1046 BC. After the Yin's collapse, the surviving Yin ruling family collectively changed their surname from their royal surname 子 (pinyin: zi; Wade-Giles: tzu) to the name of their fallen capital and country, Yin (殷). The family remained aristocratic and often provided needed administrative services to the succeeding Zhou Dynasty. The last Shang (Yin) king's brother, the Viscount of Wei (Weizi 微子), was given the territory around the old Shang capital and established the State of Song (宋國). The State of Song and the remaining Yin descendants maintained official rites to the dead Shang (Yin) kings and lasted until 286 BC. This is the only historic origin for this surname. (Source: "Records of the Grand Historian Sima Qian". 史记 "Shiji").

The surname is still found mostly in northern and northeastern China, although there have been a few historic migrations to the area south of the Yangtze River near the Wu region of China, and since the Qing Dynasty to Taiwan and Southeast Asia. It is also a rare Korean surname (殷, 은).

Besides Yin, the surname 殷 is also Romanized as "In" (Sino-Japanese, other Chinese romanizations) and "Eun" (Sino-Korean).

Famous people with Yin (殷) surname

*Yin Xian (殷羡), famous Jin Dynasty general
*Yin Hao (殷浩), another famous Jin Dynasty general
*Yin Zhongkan (殷仲堪), famous intellectual during the Northern and Southern Dynasties era
*Yin Chengzong (殷承宗), premier Chinese pianist and composer who arranged the Yellow River Piano Concerto
*Yin Tseng Yan (殷正洋), Taiwanese pop singer.