There are 6,931 single surnames in China. There are 9,012 two-character surnames, 4,850 three-character surnames, 2,276 four-character surnames, 541 five-character surnames, 142 six-character surnames, 39 seven-character surnames, 14 eight-character surnames, 7 nine-character surnames, and one cross-character surname. .
Related introduction:
The original source of ancient Chinese surnames is the primitive religious worship, totem worship and ancestor worship based on the "Way of Heaven". The so-called "Way of Heaven" refers to the rules that govern everything. Primitive totem worship is the root of ancient Chinese surnames.
After the surname is produced, it is passed down from generation to generation. It generally does not change and is relatively stable. However, the surname changes with the changes of fiefdoms and official positions. Therefore, a person's descendants will have several surnames or two generations of father and son. Different clan. The surname and the given name together form a person's name.
Extended information
Related background:
"Surname" sometimes refers to the name of the family in Eastern Zhou literature, such as "Guoyu·Zhou Yuxia" The "surname" in "The surname given is Jiang" [15] should be understood to mean that the name of the clan given the surname is Jiang. Another example is "Zuo Zhuan·Aigong": "In the fifth month, Mrs. Zhao, Mencius, died, and Duke Zhao married Wu, so he did not write his surname."
Obviously, the "surname" here refers to the name of the clan to which Wu Nu belongs, that is, "Ji". The so-called "surname" of a surname clan and the "surname" of a surname clan name are one real name and belong to two conceptual categories. Therefore, such confusion occurs because, as Mr. Yang Ximei said, the name represents reality and accumulation. Over time, the real names were used, and the concept that names such as Ji and Jiang were regarded as surnames came into being.
Sima Qian often said in "Historical Records" that the surname was a certain surname. He failed to distinguish the difference between surnames and surnames in ancient times. However, the "surname" he meant meant the name of the surname and clan.
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