Tong is a surname, one of the surnames with a long history in China. It is said that the Tong family originated in the Tang Dynasty. The emperor at that time, Concubine Li Tang, gave birth to a son named Tong. The word "Tong" means "Waterway Road", implying the starting point of life and the road to the future. Later, Tong was passed down as a surname to this day, representing the qualities of hard work, humility and perseverance.
In the modern context, Tong can also be interpreted as a place name. For example, Tongguan is an ancient pass located in Tongguan County, Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province. It is one of the famous passes in ancient China. Due to the strategic importance of its geographical location, Tongguan has become an important battlefield and political center many times in history. As a result, Tongguan has become a historical landscape, attracting countless tourists.
In addition to being a place name and a surname, Tong has other concepts in modern Chinese, such as "Tongfang", "Tongguan Station", etc. In ancient times, Tong was also used as one of the units of weights and measures. As a unit of "volume", one Tong was equivalent to three stones or five buckets. It can be seen from this that the status and uses of Tong in ancient Chinese culture are really diverse.