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Yuan (袁, ) is a Chinese surname ranked 37th in China by population.〔Chinese surnames pronounced "yuán" which still exist include: 袁, 元, 圆, 源, 原, and 垣; surnames that can be transliterated as "yuan" regardless of the tone include: 渊, 遠, 苑, 院, and 冤. Of these, only the first (the subject of this article) is ranked in the top 100 of Chinese surnames in terms of population. In modern times, the others have declined to less than 0.10% of the total Chinese population. For a discussion of surname extinction, see Galton–Watson process.〕 In Standard Chinese, the surname is transliterated "Yuán" (''pinyin'') or "Yüen2" (Wade-Giles). Regional variants include "Yeu" (Shanghainese), "Ion" (Chang-Du Gan), "Yuen" (Cantonese), "Oan" (Min Nan), "Wang" (Teochew), "Won" (Korean), and "Viên" (Vietnamese).〔Shanghainese transliterated by Chicago Romanization; Cantonese by Hong Kong Government Cantonese Romanisation; Min Nan by Pe̍h-oē-jī; Korean by Revised Romanization.〕 Pronunciation differs widely from region to region.〔Regional pronunciations transcribed in the IPA: Beijing: ; Jinan: ; Xi'an: ; Taiyuan: ; Wuhan: ; Chengdu: ; Yangzhou: ; Suzhou: ; Wenzhou: ; Changsha: ; Shuangfeng: ; Nanchang: ; Meixian: ; Guangzhou: ; Xiamen: ; Chaozhou: ; Fuzhou: ; Shanghai: . See Dylan W. H. Sung, (The Dialects of China (Internet Archive) ). Retrieved 19 July 2008.〕 According to tradition, the surname originated from a noble family of the ancient state of Chen, in what is now eastern Henan province. The written form of the character took its current standardised form around the 1st century. During the Han Dynasty, it was associated with the powerful Yuan clan of Ru'nan and later during Jin and Southern Dynasties, with the Yuan clan of Chen. Historically, the name has been fast growing amongst Han Chinese, and has also been taken up by various non-Chinese ethnic groups. The surname is now held by more than 6.5 million people worldwide, and makes up 0.54% of the population of mainland China. Although growth has tapered off in the past six centuries, the Yuan name is still relatively widespread throughout China, as well as among overseas Chinese, with heaviest per capita concentrations in the Yangtze Delta region of central coastal China. Because the Yangtze Delta region has historically exhibited high clan consciousness, there exist a large number of Yuan genealogies, most of which are now held in public institutions. Renewed interest in ancestry outside mainland China has been encouraged by the PRC government. == Origin of the surname == Traditional sources trace the surname to Yuan Taotu, a 7th-century BC Chen nobleman, who was part of a collateral branch of the family of the marquis ruling that state.〔See Ouyang Xiu, ''Xin Tang shu'' (新唐書: "New Book of Tang") (Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1975) at 3164. According to the genealogy in ''Xin Tang shu'', Yuan Taotu was a descendant of Duke Hu, the founder of the state of Chen.〕 He selected the second character in his grandfather's style name, Boyuan (伯爰), to be his own family name.〔Ouyang Xiu, note 4 at 3164〕 Yuan Taotu was granted a feoff in Yangxia (陽夏), in what is now Taikang county, Henan.〔 This estate is regarded as the ancestral home of the earliest Yuan clan. Through its connection with the ruling family of Chen, the Yuan house could also claim ancestry from the semi-legendary Emperor Shun.〔See Fan Ye, ''Hou Han shu'' (後漢書: "Book of Later Han")(Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1965) at 2391, 2439.〕 Descendants of Yuan house are mentioned by name in the ''Zuo Zhuan'' as holding high office in the state of Chen〔Zuo Qiuming (Yang Bojun ed.), ''Chunqiu Zuozhuan'' (Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1981) names Yuan Qiao (袁僑) and Yuan Po (袁頗) as holding high positions in the state of Chen: 襄公三年: 陳公使袁僑 (Diplomat Yuan Qiao of Chen), 哀公十一年: 轅頗為司徒 (Yuan Po as Situ).〕〔Tang Xueyou (1994) (袁姓改汤氏 ) ("Yuans change their surname to Tang"). Retrieved 15 November 2005. Also mentions "袁涛涂，其子袁选，其孙袁颇、袁侨均为陈国上卿", directly translate to "Yuan Taotu's son Yuan Xuan, grand sons Yuan Po and Yuan Qiao were all high officials in the State of Chen".〕 until it was extinguished by Chu in 479 BC. An alternate, much less widely accepted theory, suggests that the surname Yuan is derived from Xuanyuan (軒轅 or 玄袁), the clan name of the Yellow Emperor. After his death, the Yellow Emperor's estates came to be called Yuanyi (袁邑), and his descendants took their place of birth as a surname.〔 Prior to the unification of China in 221 BC, the surname is only known to have been present in the historical domain of Chen. Some members of the Yuan clan are known to have moved to Zheng and other neighbouring states. The process of emigration from the Yangxia heartland continued after unification. An example of this is the case of Yuan Ang, a minister to Emperor Gao of Han. His family was forced by banditry to move to Anling, in the area of modern Xi'an, some 500 km west of their ancestral homeland.〔Sima Qian, ''Shi ji'' (史記: "Historical records") (Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1959) at 2737.〕 The surname Yuan could be written in at least five different ways in early Han times, and they were used interchangeably in pre-Han times.〔Archaic renderings of the Yuan name include: 轅; 榬; 溒; 援; 爰. According to Ouyang Xiu, the now standardised character for name (袁) became prevalent around the end of the Qin Dynasty (2nd century BC), by a family which had come to reside in the region around Luoyang in central-north China.〕 By the 1st century, the name had taken a largely standardised form (袁), which remains to the present day. An early dictionary, the ''Shuowen'', defines this character as "a long garment", but this archaic meaning had already fallen into disuse. The Han text ''Qian fu lun'' (潛夫論: "Comments of a Recluse") suggests that the character was derived from either 1) the character ''ai'' (哀), meaning "sorrow, grief"; or 2) a combination of the characters ''gong'' (公: "lord") and ''gu'' (谷: "grain").〔Wang Fu, ''Qian fu lun'' (潜夫論: "Comments of a Recluse") (Shanghai: Shanghai Guji chuban she, 1978).〕 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「Yuan (surname)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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