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Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Vietnam and among overseas Chinese communities. In ancient times two types of surnames, clan names () and lineage names (), existed. The colloquial expressions ''laobaixing'' (老百姓; lit. "old hundred surnames"), and ''bǎixìng'' (百姓, lit. "hundred surnames") are used in Chinese to mean "ordinary folks", "the people", or "commoners." Chinese family names are patrilineal, passed from father to children. (In cases of adoption, the adoptee usually also takes the same surname.) In current Chinese practice, surnames are not changed upon marriage. However, in places with Western influence such as Hong Kong, women may (legally or informally) adopt their husband's surname. Traditionally Chinese surnames have been exogamous〔Chinese Society in Singapore, The Study of Chinese Society: Essays, Maurice Freedman, George William Skinner, Stanford University Press, 1979, pp. 133〕〔The Eclectic Magazine of Foreign Literature, Science, and Art, Volume 38; Volume 101, Harry Houdini Collection, John Davis Batchelder Collection, Leavitt, Trow, & Company, 1883 p. 852〕 ==Origin of Chinese surnames== Prior to the Warring States period (fifth century BC), only the royal family and the aristocratic elite could generally take surnames. Historically there was also a difference between clan names or ''xing'' (姓) and lineages names or ''shi'' (氏). ''Xing'' were surnames held by the noble clans. They generally are composed of a nü (女, "female") radical which has been taken by some as evidence they originated from matriarchal societies based on maternal lineages. Another hypothesis has been proposed by sinologist Léon Vandermeersch upon observation of the evolution of characters in oracular scripture from the Shang dynasty through the Zhou. The "female" radical seems to appear at the Zhou period next to Shang sinograms indicating an ethnic group or a tribe. This combination seems to designate specifically a female and could mean "lady of such or such clan". The structure of the ''xing'' sinogram could reflect the fact that in the royal court of Zhou, at least in the beginning, only females (wives married into the Zhou family from other clans) were called by their birth clan name, while the men were usually designated by their title or fief. Prior to the Qin Dynasty (3rd century BC) China was largely, a feudal (''fengjian'') society. As fiefdoms were divided and subdivided among descendants, so additional sub-surnames known as ''shi'' were created to distinguish between different seniority of lineages among the nobles though in theory they shared the same ancestor. In this way, a nobleman would hold a ''shi'' and a ''xing''. After the states of China were unified by Qin Shi Huang in 221 BC, surnames gradually spread to the lower classes and the difference between ''xing'' and ''shi'' blurred. Many ''Shi'' surnames survive to the present day. According to Kiang Kang-Hu, there are 18 sources from which Chinese surnames may be derived, while others suggested at least 24. These may be names associated with a ruling dynasty such as the various titles and names of rulers, nobility and dynasty, or they may be place names of various territories, districts, towns, villages, and specific locations, the title of official posts or occupations, or names of objects, or they may be derived from the names of family members or clans, and in a few cases, names of contempt given by a ruler. The following are some of the common sources: # ''Xing'': These were usually reserved for the central lineage of the royal family, with collateral lineages taking their own ''shi''. Of the six or so common ''xing'', only Jiang (姜) and Yao (姚) have survived as frequently occurring surnames. # Royal decree by the Emperor, such as Kuang (鄺). # State name: Many nobles and commoners took the name of their state, either to show their continuing allegiance or as a matter of national and ethnic identity. These are some of the most common Chinese surnames. # Name of a fief or place of origin. Fiefdoms were often granted to collateral branches of the aristocracy and it was natural as part of the process of sub-surnaming for their names to be used. An example is Di, Marquis of Ouyangting, whose descendants took the surname Ouyang. There are some two hundred examples of this identified, often of two-character surnames, but few have survived to the present. # Names of an ancestor: Like the previous example, this was also a common origin with close to 500 or 600 examples, 200 of which are two-character surnames. Often an ancestor's courtesy name would be used. For example, Yuan Taotu took the second character of his grandfather's courtesy name Boyuan (伯爰) as his surname. Sometimes titles granted to ancestors could also be taken as surnames. # Seniority within the family: In ancient usage, the characters of ''meng'' (孟), ''zhong'' (仲), ''shu'' (叔) and ''ji'' (季) were used to denote the first, second, third and fourth (or last) eldest sons in a family. These were sometimes adopted as surnames. Of these, Meng is the best known, being the surname of the philosopher Mencius. # Occupation: These could arise from both official positions, as in the case of Sima (司马/司馬), originally akin to "Minister of War". They could also arise from more lowly occupations, as with Tao (陶), meaning "potter" or Wu (巫), meaning "shaman". # Ethnic groups: Non-Han Chinese peoples in China sometimes took the name of their ethnic group as surname. Many also changed their surnames throughout history for a number of reasons. A ruler may bestow his own surname on those he considered to have given outstanding service to him, for example the surname Liu (劉) was granted by emperors in the Han Dynasty, Li (李) during the Tang Dynasty, and Zhao (趙) from the Song Dynasty. Others however may avoid using the name of a ruler, for example Shi (師) was changed to Shuai (帥) to avoid conflict with the name of Sima Shi. Others may modify their name in order to escape from their enemies at times of turmoil, for example Duanmu (端木) to Mu (木 and 沐), and Gong (共) to Gong (龔). The name may also be changed by simplification of the writing (e.g. Mu (幕) to Mo (莫)), or reducing from double or multiple character names to single character names (e.g. Duangan (段干) to Duan (段)). It may also have occurred through error, or changed due to a dissatisfaction with the name (e.g. 哀 meaning sorrow to 衷 meaning heartfelt feeling). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Chinese surname」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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