Guān

Origin and timeline

• Guan - meaning is City Gate, or Close the City Gate - originally name for an official, then became a surname.
• During the 23rd century BCE, Dongfu was a descendant of the ruler Shuan in Chifeng within the old Rehe Province of the Khitan state. Dongfu married a daughter of Emperor Yao's tribe, using the surname Dong, which later became the surname Kwan.
• In 1650 BCE, during the Xia Dynasty, Guan Longfeng was an officer of Jie of Xia's reign.
• In 643 BCE, during the Zhou Dynasty, near Mount Xiao within the nation of Jin, the Ji family used the surname of Dongguan with region name Dongguan. In China it is common for clans possessing the same surname to live in a village together, with their surname designating the name of the village. Later, the Dongguan family branched into two surnames: Dǒng, and Guan. Dongguan Wu was an officer of Jin.
• In 604 BCE, during the Zhou Dynasty, an officer named Yin Xi is reported to have taken the name Guan Yin as his name in public office, designating 關 as his surname. Subsequent generations continued to use 關 as their surname.
• The surname 關 exists among ethnic minorities including the Zhuang people, Mongols, and other various Chinese minorities.
• Around 1080 CE, the surname 關 arrives in the province of Guangdong at Xinhui, five generations later at Kaiping in Guangdong province.
• During the Jin dynasty, the surname 關 has also been founded by the Jurchen people of the Guaerjia.
• Near the end of the 19th century, population pressure on the limited arable land in Kaiping county, mainly along the Tan river, induces the rural poor 關 to emigrate overseas, largely to North America and rest to Southeast Asia.

  Historical figures

• Guan Yu, general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era; aka Kuan Kung in Chinese folklore.
• Guan Ping, Guan Yu's son, also a general of Shu Han
• Guan Xing, son of Guan Yu and younger brother of Guan Ping, also a general of Shu Han
• Guan Bo official and chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
• Guan Tong, Chinese landscape painter during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
• Guan Hanqing, playwright and poet in the Yuan dynasty
• Guan Tianpei, Chinese admiral of the Qing dynasty, who served in the First Opium War

  Modern people

• Guan Zilan, Chinese avant-garde painter
• Guan Linzheng, Kuomintang general
• Kwan Tak-hing, Hong Kong actor famous for playing the role of Wong Fei-hung
• Kwan Hoi-san, Hong Kong actor
• Yu-chien Kuan, Chinese-born German sinologist, writer, and translator
• Nancy Kwan, Chinese-American actress known for her Hollywood films
• Michael Kwan, Hong Kong Cantopop singer
• Jean Quan, American politician
• Stanley Kwan, Hong Kong director and producer
• Susanna Kwan, Hong Kong singer and actress
• Betty Kwan Chinn, Chinese-American philanthropist, 2010 U.S. Presidential Citizens Medalist
• Kwan Chi Lam, Hong Kong actress
• Esther Kwan, Hong Kong actress
• Shirley Kwan, Hong Kong Cantopop singer
• Jonathan Ke Quan, American actor and stunt coordinator
• Jade Kwan, Hong Kong Cantopop singer
• Michelle Kwan, American competitive figure skater, two-time Olympic medalist, five-time World Champion
• Kelvin Kwan, Hong Kong Cantopop singer
• Guan Xiaotong, Chinese actress
• Guan Tianlang, Chinese golfer
• Lily Kwan, Canadian model and newscaster on Naked News
• Kevin Kwan, Singaporean novelist
• Kwan Swee Lian, Malaysian chef and businessperson
• Wayne Kwan, Singaporean Jiu Jitsu Fighter, SEA Games Medalist

  Japanese people with the surname Seki (関)

Historical figures

• Seki Takakazu, mathematician in the Edo period

  Notable modern people

• Tsutomu Seki, an astronomer who discovered large numbers of comets and asteroids
• Tomokazu Seki, a voice actor