Wan Family#

Surname: Wan, pronunciation: wàn

Distribution of the Wan Family#

Chang'an, Shaanxi Province; Luoyang City, Henan Province

Origin of the Wan Family#

The Wan family ranks 91st among the most common surnames in China, with a significant population, accounting for approximately 0.23% of the total Han population in the country.

Origins of the Surname Wan: There are six origins for the Wan surname:

1. Derived from the Ji surname, where the grandfather's given name was adopted as the surname. According to "Tongzhi · Shizhu Lue," during the Zhou Dynasty, a high-ranking official was granted a fief in the state of Rui (located south of Chaoyi City, Dali County, Shaanxi Province; this was a state of the Ji clan, which was conquered by Qin in 640 BCE). This official was historically known as Rui Bo. During the Spring and Autumn period, his descendant Rui Bo Wan adopted his grandfather's given name "Wan" as their surname.
2. Also derived from the Ji surname, where the grandfather's given name "Wan" was used as the surname. According to "Yuanhe Xingzuan," during the Spring and Autumn period, there was a high-ranking official named Bi Wan from the state of Jin. Bi Wan was a descendant of Duke Bi Gao and was granted a fief in Wei (north of Ruicheng, Shanxi Province; this state was originally a vassal state of the Western Zhou Dynasty but was conquered by Duke Xian of Jin in 661 BCE). Bi Wan's descendants also adopted "Wan" as their surname.
3. Surnames changed from other ethnic groups. According to "Weishu · Guanshi Zhi," during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there was a Xianbei family with the surname Ye Wan. After moving the capital to Luoyang with Emperor Xiaowen of Wei, they adopted the Chinese character "Wan" as their surname.
4. In ancient times, there was a person named Yi Ye who lived in the area north of the Yin Mountains. His descendants adopted the first character of the mountain's name, "Wan," as their surname.
5. The surname also resulted from the sinicization of Manchu surnames, such as Tumen, Wanliuhaha, Shumulu, Wase, and Manchu surnames that merged with Han Chinese surnames like Wan.

Migration and Distribution: During the Spring and Autumn period, the state of Rui occupied the area between present-day Shanxi and Shaanxi, while the state of Jin occupied the Shanxi region. Therefore, the Wan family likely originated in these two provinces, which remained major sources of the Wan lineage. Before the Han Dynasty, some Wan people migrated to Shandong; for example, during the Warring States period, there was a person named Wan Zhang from Shandong. Both regions remained key areas for the Wan family's development. During the Han Dynasty, the Wan family flourished in the Fufeng area of Shaanxi, leading to the establishment of the Fufeng branch of the family. During the Wei, Jin, Northern, and Southern Dynasties, conflicts in the north prompted some Wan people to move south, establishing a strong presence of the Wan family in the south. After the Northern Wei moved the capital to Luoyang, sinicization policies led to the change of the Xianbei surname Ye Wan to the single Chinese character "Wan," resulting in the Henan branch of the family. In the Tang Dynasty, the Wan family was prominent in Zhejiang and Anhui, with notable figures such as Wan Qirong (magistrate of Kunshan, Zhejiang) and Wan Jingru (from Anhui). During the Song and Yuan dynasties, there were frequent changes in dynasties, and wars in the north led to another wave of migration south, increasing the Wan family's presence in the south. In the Qing Dynasty, the Wan family reached its peak, with significant members in Sichuan, Jiangsu, Guangdong, and Guangxi. This indicates that the Wan family had spread to the southernmost parts of China. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Wan family further expanded to Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Anhui, and Beijing.

Notable People with the Surname Wan:

• Wan Sitong: A renowned historian of the Qing Dynasty with extensive knowledge of history. He refused to serve as an official for the Qing government and contributed significantly to the compilation of the 500-volume "History of the Ming Dynasty."
• Wan Jiabao: Pen name Cao Yu, originally from Qianjiang, Hubei, born in Tianjin. He was an outstanding artist and playwright, known for works such as "Thunderstorm," "Sunrise," "The Wilderness," and "Beijing People."