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Zhang (surname)
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<h2 id="transliterations-and-derivatives">Transliterations and derivatives</h2> <ul><li>Zhang in <a href="/facts/Mandarin_Chinese/yxvDg67C">Mandarin</a>, alternatively romanized as <a href="/facts/Chang_(surname)/dwmutSJ9">Chang</a> in <a href="/facts/Taiwan/VcJoUD8w">Taiwan</a> and among the <a href="/facts/Chinese_diaspora/WIF67bsX">Chinese diaspora</a> using older romanization systems. However, Zhang has been the official first-recommended translation for 張 in <a href="/facts/Taiwan/VcJoUD8w">Taiwan</a> since 2017.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Cheung_(surname)/CvFFTlFo">Cheung</a> or Zoeng in <a href="/facts/Cantonese/y5UhgScP">Cantonese</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Teo_(surname)/rIPV5DIq">Teo</a>, <a href="/facts/Teoh/rIPV5DIq">Teoh</a>, Theo, Thio, or Tio in <a href="/facts/Hokkien/zUtFFsnL">Hokkien</a> and <a href="/facts/Teochew_dialect/jG7sSH2z">Teochew</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Chong_(surname)/kD5CMalR">Chong</a> and Cheong in <a href="/facts/Hakka_Chinese/NW5mGD6K">Hakka</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Tiong_(surname)/cSAtggM1">Tiong</a> in <a href="/facts/Eastern_Min/ll3HQE6R">Eastern Min</a> and the <a href="/facts/Chinese_Filipino/UtKz5oo5">Philippines</a></li> <li>Cheong in <a href="/facts/Gan_Chinese/2t0n5KPw">Gan</a></li> <li>Tsan and Tsaon among <a href="/facts/Wu_Chinese/IXnCCme0">Wu Chinese</a> varieties such as <a href="/facts/Shanghainese_language/o4MEAwa2">Shanghainese</a>;</li> <li>Cheong in <a href="/facts/Macau/KEm5w6xH">Macau</a> and <a href="/facts/Malaysia/8zbUMzCP">Malaysia</a></li> <li>Tjang, Tjiong, Tjon, or Tjong in <a href="/facts/Chinese_Indonesians/VI4XDjzL">Indonesia</a></li></ul> <h3>Derivatives</h3> <ul><li>As the <a href="/facts/Hanja/cvLdbcxX">Hanja</a> of the <a href="/facts/Korean_surname/m04VRK98">Korean surname</a> romanized as <a href="/facts/Jang_(Korean_surname)/bQhnnEnV">Jang</a> or <a href="/facts/Chang_(Korean_name)/bQhnnEnV">Chang</a> (<a href="/facts/Korean_language/dmNnRxAA">Korean</a>: 장; <a href="/facts/Hanja/cvLdbcxX">Hanja</a>: 張)</li> <li>As the <a href="/facts/Kanji/E1IN7hVL">Kanji</a> for the <a href="/facts/Japanese_surname/b2JRS76N">Japanese surname</a> romanized as Chō</li> <li>As the <a href="/facts/H%C3%A1n_T%E1%BB%B1/5pn1PFvj">Hán Tự</a> for the <a href="/facts/Vietnamese_surname/NwadkLY1">Vietnamese surname</a> <a href="/facts/Truong_(surname)/hde7IDQr">Trương</a> or <a href="/facts/Trang_(surname)/PqVCzjnU">Trang</a></li> <li>Derived as Canggih, Candra, Hidayat, Irawan, Jaya, Prasetya, Sutiono, or other <a href="/facts/Chinese_Indonesian_surname/473U8J0D">Indonesianized surnames</a> among <a href="/facts/Chinese_Indonesians/VI4XDjzL">Chinese Indonesians</a></li></ul> <h2 id="distribution">Distribution</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Zhang_Fei/azNCqgIt">Zhang Fei</a> (died July or August 221 AD)'s subordinates Fan Qiang (范彊) and Zhang Da (張達) assassinated their commander, decapitated the corpse, and brought the head along with them as they defected to Sun Quan's side.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Zhang_Gaoli/aqeMG3nM">Zhang Gaoli</a> (<a href="/facts/Disappearance_of_Peng_Shuai/d3tkrB0y">Disappearance of Peng Shuai</a>)</li> <li><a href="/facts/Tr%C6%B0%C6%A1ng_M%E1%BB%B9_Lan/l07S2ND8">Trương Mỹ Lan</a> (Chinese: 張美蘭, born 13 October 1956)On 11 April 2024, Lan was sentenced to death.</li></ul> <p class="note">For list of people with surname Zhang, see List of people with surname Zhang.</p> <p>As mentioned above, 張 is the <a href="/facts/List_of_common_Chinese_surnames/wqJDTvh1">third-most-common surname</a> in <a href="/facts/Mainland_China/HFXJcUky">mainland China</a>, making up 6.83% of the population of the People's Republic of China.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> In 2019 it was the most common surname in exactly one provincial-level division, <a href="/facts/Shanghai/nYyuBo2S">Shanghai</a> municipality.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> In Taiwan, 張 is the <a href="/facts/List_of_common_Chinese_surnames/wqJDTvh1">fourth-most-common surname</a>, making up 5.26% of the population of the Republic of China. In 2019 it was again the third most common surname in Mainland China.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p><p><a href="/facts/Zhang_Wei_(disambiguation)/31VFaJQn">Zhang Wei</a> (张伟) has been the most common family name and given name combination in China for many years. </p><p>Among the Chinese diaspora, the name remains common but takes on various romanizations. "Teo" and "Chong" are amongst the <a href="/facts/List_of_common_Chinese_Singaporean_surnames/wqJDTvh1">most common surnames</a> among <a href="/facts/Chinese_Singaporeans/4gMhWFQj">Chinese Singaporeans</a>, listed at 11th and 19th respectively;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> "Chang" is the <a href="/facts/List_of_common_Chinese_American_surnames/wqJDTvh1">6th-most-common surname</a> among <a href="/facts/Chinese_Americans/mjGFo4om">Chinese Americans</a>; and "Zhang" was the <a href="/facts/List_of_common_Chinese_Canadian_surnames/wqJDTvh1">7th-most-common particularly Chinese surname</a> found in a 2010 survey of <a href="/facts/Ontario/HUkxk5Rf">Ontario</a>'s Registered Persons Database of <a href="/facts/Canadian_health_card/K8aMhm6M">Canadian health card</a> recipients.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="history">History</h2> <h3>Characters</h3> <p>張 combines the <a href="/facts/Chinese_characters/5pn1PFvj">Chinese characters</a> 弓 (<i>gōng</i>, "bow") and 長 (<a href="/facts/Simplified_characters/UcAD6xXs">simp.</a> 长, <i>cháng</i>, "long" or "wide"). It originally meant "to open up" or "to spread" as an arching bow, but as a common noun in modern use it is a <a href="/facts/Measure_word/quecJsWU">measure word</a> for flat objects such as paper and cloth, like the English "sheet of". </p> <h3>Families</h3> <p>The traditional origin of the surname 張 (<a href="/facts/Old_Chinese/913bNFLp">Old Chinese</a>: <i>*C. traŋ</i><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a>) is rooted in Chinese legend. The fifth son of the <a href="/facts/Yellow_Emperor/K1RxaWdd">Yellow Emperor</a>, Qing Yangshi (<a href="/facts/Simplified_Chinese_characters/UcAD6xXs">simplified Chinese</a>: 青阳氏; <a href="/facts/Traditional_Chinese_characters/bBFLkuz7">traditional Chinese</a>: 青陽氏; <a href="/facts/Pinyin/pUwjfMXg">pinyin</a>: <i>Qīng Yángshì</i>), had a son Hui (挥; 揮; <i>Huī</i>) who was inspired by the Heavenly Bow <a href="/facts/Chinese_constellation/YSGjkXQI">constellation</a> (天弓星, <i>Tiān Gōng Xīng</i>) to invent the bow and arrow. Hui was then promoted to "First Bow" (弓正, <i>Gōng Zhèng</i>) and bestowed the surname 張, which – when broken into its constituent <a href="/facts/Radical_(Chinese_character)/VzphA4Rc">radicals</a> – means "widening bow" or "archer". Its <a href="/facts/Middle_Chinese_language/zQNbA7H7">Middle Chinese</a> pronunciation has been reconstructed as <i>Trjang</i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> </p> <h3>Other origins</h3> <ul><li>for some families, it is traced back to Xie Zhang (解張), whose style name was Zhang Hou (張侯, lit “Marquis Zhang”) a noble in <a href="/facts/Jin_(Chinese_state)/ldCDkTNM">Jin</a> during the <a href="/facts/Spring_and_Autumn_period/H8klKw2P">Spring and Autumn period</a>.</li> <li>from the family of <a href="/facts/Zhang_Liao/Gnb3QInp">Zhang Liao</a> (張遼), an official in <a href="/facts/Cao_Wei/MDpLYXyC">Cao Wei</a> during <a href="/facts/Three_Kingdoms/VPwdBTMA">Three Kingdoms</a> period. Zhāng Liao's family had changed from <i><a href="/facts/Nie_(surname)/n4gmEalR">Nie</a></i> to <i>Zhang</i> to avoid association with his disgraced ancestor Nie Yi (聶壹).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a></li> <li>the surname is also traced back to Long Youna, chief of a minority ethnic groups during the Three Kingdoms period, who was given the Chinese surname Zhang (張) by <a href="/facts/Zhuge_Liang/UySJ22jg">Zhuge Liang</a>, the prime minister of <a href="/facts/Shu_Han/Cm0s5BIV">Shu</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Chinese_name/7j9G71pj">Chinese name</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Chinese_surname/r8dpUG2R">Chinese surname</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_common_Chinese_surnames/wqJDTvh1">List of common Chinese surnames</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Tr%C6%B0%C6%A1ng/hde7IDQr">Trương</a>, Zhang in <a href="/facts/Vietnamese_language/J3Pbx58C">Vietnamese</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Tongji weixun 统计微讯 (23 June 2014). 张、王、李、赵谁最多—2010年人口普查姓氏结构和分布特点. mp.weixin.qq.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 19 October 2020. <a href="张、王、李、赵谁最多—2010年人口普查姓氏结构和分布特点" target="_blank">张、王、李、赵谁最多—2010年人口普查姓氏结构和分布特点</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>最新版百家姓排行榜出炉：王姓成中国第一大姓 [Latest surname ranking: Wang is the number one surname in China]. Xinhua News Agency (in Chinese). 15 April 2013. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013. <a href="最新版百家姓排行榜出炉：王姓成中国第一大姓" target="_blank">最新版百家姓排行榜出炉：王姓成中国第一大姓</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"Zhang Family History". Ancestry.ca. Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180717100135/https://www.ancestry.ca/name-origin?surname=zhang" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20180717100135/https://www.ancestry.ca/name-origin?surname=zhang</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"What are the 10 most common last names in the world?". Reference.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180520151205/https://www.reference.com/education/10-common-last-names-world-ff45abb098a0454b" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20180520151205/https://www.reference.com/education/10-common-last-names-world-ff45abb098a0454b</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>公安部统计分析显示：王姓成为我国第一大姓. 新华网 (in Chinese). 24 April 2007. Archived from the original on 29 April 2007. Retrieved 15 March 2012. <a href="公安部统计分析显示：王姓成为我国第一大姓新华网" target="_blank">公安部统计分析显示：王姓成为我国第一大姓新华网</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Chinese Surname Shortage Sparks Rethink". People's Daily Online. 20 June 2007. Archived from the original on 20 February 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2012. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120220065038/http://english.people.com.cn/200706/19/eng20070619_385661.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20120220065038/http://english.people.com.cn/200706/19/eng20070619_385661.html</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>McFarlan, Donald (2001). 1990 Guinness Book of World Records. Sterling Pub. Co. ISBN 189205101X. <a href="189205101X" target="_blank">189205101X</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>公安部统计：'王'成中国第一大姓 有9288万人 [Public Security Bureau Statistics: 'Wang' Found China's #1 'Big Family', Includes 92.88m People]. news.eastday.com (in Chinese). 24 April 2007. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2012. <a href="公安部统计：'王'成中国第一大姓 有9288万人" target="_blank">公安部统计：'王'成中国第一大姓 有9288万人</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>2019年全国姓名报告出炉，这十个姓名使用最多. 新京报网 (in Chinese). 20 January 2020. Archived from the original on 23 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020. <a href="2019年全国姓名报告出炉，这十个姓名使用最多新京报网" target="_blank">2019年全国姓名报告出炉，这十个姓名使用最多新京报网</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>2019年全国姓名报告出炉，这十个姓名使用最多. 新京报网 (in Chinese). 20 January 2020. Archived from the original on 23 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020. <a href="2019年全国姓名报告出炉，这十个姓名使用最多新京报网" target="_blank">2019年全国姓名报告出炉，这十个姓名使用最多新京报网</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"Popular Chinese Surnames in Singapore". Statistics Singapore. Archived from the original on 23 February 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2012. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080223075738/http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/papers/people/chinesesurnames.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20080223075738/http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/papers/people/chinesesurnames.html</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Shah, Baiju R.; Chiu, Maria; Amin, Shubarna; Ramani, Meera; Sadry, Sharon; Tu, Jack V. (2010). "Surname Lists to Identify South Asian and Chinese Ethnicity from Secondary Data in Ontario, Canada: A Validation Study". BMC Medical Research Methodology. 10 (1): 42. doi:10.1186/1471-2288-10-42. PMC 2877682. PMID 20470433. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2877682" target="_blank">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2877682</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Baxter, William H.; Sagart, Laurent (2011). Baxter–Sagart Old Chinese Reconstruction. p. 143. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2011 – via crlao.ehess.fr. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120425064509/http://crlao.ehess.fr/docannexe.php?id=1207" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20120425064509/http://crlao.ehess.fr/docannexe.php?id=1207</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Baxter, William H.; Sagart, Laurent (2011). Baxter–Sagart Old Chinese Reconstruction. p. 143. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2011 – via crlao.ehess.fr. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120425064509/http://crlao.ehess.fr/docannexe.php?id=1207" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20120425064509/http://crlao.ehess.fr/docannexe.php?id=1207</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>(本聶壹之後，以避怨變姓。) Sanguozhi. Vol. 17. <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>