Zhao (surname)


Zhao is a Chinese surname, ranking as the 7th most common surname in China and carried mainly by people of Mandarin-speaking regions. Zhao is the 1st surname in the famous Hundred Family Surnames – the traditional list of all Chinese surnames – because it was the emperor's surname of the Song Dynasty when the list was compiled. The first line of the poem is in the line 趙錢孫李.
A 2013 study found it to be the 9th most common surnames, shared by 26,700,000 people or 2.000% of the population, with the province with the most being Henan.
Zhao may be romanized as Chiu from the Cantonese pronunciation, and is romanized in Taiwan and Hong Kong as Chao as in the Wade–Giles system. It is cognate with the Vietnamese family name Triệu and with the Korean family name most commonly romanized as Cho.
The romanization is shared with the much rarer family name Zhào.

History

Zhao is one of the most ancient of Chinese surnames, and its origins are partly shrouded in legend. During the reign of King Mu of Zhou, an officer named Zaofu proved exceptionally adept at training horses and driving chariots and won the respect of King Mu. During a battle with the eastern state of Xu, an ethnically different state which was resisting Zhou rule, Zaofu drove a chariot into the battle and escorted King Mu back to the Zhou capital. In gratitude, King Mu enfeoffed Zaofu as the lord of Zhao, a town in what is now Hongdong County, Shanxi Province, to be held by his descendants in perpetuity. Zaofu's descendants took Zhao as a surname to mark their prestigious association with the city. Records such as Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian say that Zaofu was a descendant of legendary kings Zhuanxu, Shaohao, and the Yellow Emperor.
The town Zhao became part of the state of Jin during the Warring States period, when the Zhou Dynasty began to collapse. In 403 BC, Jin split into three smaller states, one of which was the state of Zhao.
The Zhao clan rulers of State of Qin and State of Zhao were highly successful, and State of Zhao were one of the last major states conquered by the State of Qin during its unification of China.
As with all ancient Chinese surnames, the Zhao family was constantly added to by marriages, its bestowal upon commoners for meritorious deeds, and its adoption by non-Chinese peoples assimilated into Han Chinese culture. The Zhao name experienced a great revival after Zhao Kuangyin became the first emperor of the Song Dynasty in 960 AD, leading to 300 years of Zhao rule over China. Notably, it is during this dynasty that the famous Hundred Family Surnames – the traditional list of all Chinese surnames – was compiled, leading the surname Zhao, that of the royal house, to be the first name listed.
However, some cadet clans on the mainland have genealogy records preserved from the Cultural Revolution as well as some Hata clans of Japan, which could trace back to a significant amount of generations to verify the authenticity of the bloodline.

Evolution of the Zhao clan

Modern culture

In Lu Xun's novel The True Story of Ah Q, Ah Q said he belonged to the same clan as Mr. Zhao, who was an honored landlord of the village. Mr. Zhao was very angry. He slapped Ah Q's face and said, How could you be named Zhao!—Do you think you are worthy of the name Zhao?'
Since 2015 or earlier, in Chinese internet, Zhao became the intimation of Communist Party of China and 'State of Zhao' became the intimation of China. Similarly, 'The Zhao Family' refers to the dignitaries of China, and "The Zhao's Army" refers to People's Liberation Army. How could you be named Zhao!' is popular to satirize the people who are humble but pretend to be powerful.
In 2016, the blog writer Program Think set up a GitHub project named Zhao. The project collects the relationships among more than 700 people in over 130 families include Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and many other high level government officials of Communist Party of China. Cyber Security Association of China requested GitHub to remove the project. Error status code 451 would be reached if the connection request to the project is from China.

Prominent people with the family name

Historical figures