The surname Wang is the most common surname in China (according to data released by the Public Security Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security). It is one of the three most common surnames in the world and one of the oldest surnames in China. In "Hundred Family Surnames" 》ranked 8th. In addition to China, there are also many people with the surname Wang in North Korea. In Guangdong, Wang and Huang have the same pronunciation in Cantonese and are two surnames respectively. Wang's surname is usually called Sanhua Wang or Sanheng Wang.
Ouyang Xiu, a great writer of the Northern Song Dynasty, wrote about the totem of the surname Wang: The Wang family was the only one who preceded it, as far back as the Three Dynasties, down to the Warring States Period. The people of Shang, Zhou, Qi, Wei, and those who came after them all took Wang as their surname. Therefore, it is a surname, especially in later generations
"The Lineage of Prime Ministers in the New Book of Tang Dynasty" states that Wang's family name comes from the surname Ji. Prince Jin (i.e. Prince Qiao) of Zhou Ling Wang was dismissed as a commoner by Zhijian, and his son Zongjing was appointed as Situ. At that time, people called him the Wang family, because he was considered a surname. The Wang family initially had three houses, the first one was Taiyuan, the second one was Langye, which was after Ji Jin, and the third one was Jingzhao, which was after Lord Wei Xinling. These three houses were all the queens of the royal family. There are as many as 21 counties with the surname Wang, among which Taiyuan and Langye counties are the most famous. Later, his descendants spread all over the country, and there were many families and branches. When Wang Dan, the famous Prime Minister of the Northern Song Dynasty, this branch of the Wang family was still relatively well-known at that time, it was called the Sanhuai Wang family. It is the largest branch among the Wang surnames today. Most of their descendants take Sanhuai or Huaiyin as their hall names, and they are well-known both internally and externally. In addition, the Wang family also has descendants of Yu Shun and descendants of the Shang Dynasty. During the Three Dynasties (Three Dynasties of Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties), people were often named after kings, such as: Yin Gong Wang Hai, Wang Heng, Song Gong Chenggong, Wang Chen, etc. It can be seen that the character "王" has been used in personal names for a long time. According to "Book of Rites and Kingship", as early as the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, the surnames were divided into nine levels. The king was among the nine lords, and anyone with a title could receive the surname. This is also the importance of the surname. One of the sources. Wang Fu of the Eastern Han Dynasty wrote in his book "Qian Fu Lun Zhi Surnames": Those whose surnames are in Jue include Wang and Wangsun. In the pre-Qin period, men were called surnames and women were called surnames. In the Qin and Han dynasties, surnames were unified and unified by surnames instead of surnames.
According to the "Tongzhi Clan Brief", the Wang clan in the Jingzhao and Hejian areas is said to be the 15th son of King Wen of Zhou, Bi Gonggao. Descendants, so this branch comes from the surname Ji; the Wang surname in Beihai (now Shandong) and Chenliu (near today's Kaifeng, Henan) is said to be the descendant of Emperor Shun, and this branch comes from the surname Gui The surname Wang in Jidu County (today's Xinxiang area of ????Henan Province) said that he was the prince after Bigan, derived from the surname Zi; the above three branches are all related to the meaning of king itself. Among the many branches of the Wang family, the one derived from the descendants of King Wen Ji of Zhou is still the most famous.
The origin of the surname Wang is quite old and has many sources in the changes of history. In addition to being from the royal family, there are also many people who were given the surname Wang or pretended to be the surname Wang. For example, the great-great-grandson Jia of King Dan of Yan presented a talisman to Wang Mang and was given the surname Wang. For example, Wang Shichong, a local separatist in the late Sui Dynasty, was originally from the Western Regions. The Hu Zhi family took the surname Wang; the Liang general Wang Sengbian in the Southern Dynasties, Benwu Wan family, belonged to the Xianbei tribe and was named king by the Wanyan family in the Jin Dynasty, so he changed his name to Wang Han. Not only do many Chinese royal families bear the surname Wang, but many descendants of tribal leaders and rulers of ethnic minorities also bear the surname Wang. The meaning is roughly the same as the above-mentioned Wang surnames from Ji, Gui, and Zi. . Therefore, the surname Wang has many sources, is widely distributed, and has a prosperous population.
Among the many branches of the Wang family, the one derived from the descendants of King Wen Ji of Zhou has been the most famous for several years. This Wang surname originated from the original Zhou Dynasty, which is today's Gansu and Shaanxi Xi'an areas, and its subsequent main enfeoffment areas were in today's Shandong Province. According to textual research, Wang Dao, a famous official in the Zhongxing Dynasty of Jin Dynasty, is the descendant of this Wang family who multiplied in Shandong. His descendants have been married for generations, making the Wang family a famous family for a while.