The Qiao Clan#

Clan Name: Qiao, pronounced as qiáo

Regions Where the Qiao Clan is Found#

• Liang State: The Liang State was established in the fifth year of Emperor Gao of Han, with its capital in Suiyang. This corresponds to the areas of present-day Shangqiu, Yucheng, and Minquan in Henan Province. During the Song Dynasty, it was renamed Liangjun, and its capital was moved to another location; in the Northern Wei Dynasty, the original capital was restored.
• Fengqiu: The origin of this name is unclear.

Origins of the Qiao Clan#

There are three theories regarding the origin of the Qiao Clan:

1. From the Ji Clan: The Qiao Clan is said to have originated from the Ji Clan and transformed from the Qiao surname, which was named after a mountain. According to the "Yuanhe Xing Zuan" and "Wan Xing Tong Pu," it is believed that the common ancestors of various tribes in the Central Plains were buried on Qiaoshan (north of present-day Huangling County, Shaanxi Province). Some of their descendants stayed to guard the tomb, and thus they adopted the name of the mountain as their surname, becoming the Qiao Clan. The change from Qiao to Qiao occurred during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. According to the "Xin Bai Jia Xing" compiled by Sang Jun, during the Eastern Han Dynasty, Qiao Qin, a sixth-generation descendant of Taiwei Qiao Xuan, served as the interior minister of Pingyuan in the Northern Wei Dynasty. At the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Emperor Xiaowu of Wei could not bear the tyranny and oppression of Prime Minister Gao Huan and fled. Qiao Qin followed Emperor Xiaowu to the Western Wei established by Yuwen Tai. One day, Yuwen Tai suggested that Qiao Qin remove the wooden radical from the character "Qiao," resulting in the new surname "Qiao," symbolizing greatness and loftiness. Qiao Qin complied, and this change was passed down through generations, forming the Qiao Clan in Shaanxi. This is considered the authentic origin of the Qiao Clan.
2. From a Noble Hunnic Clan: Historical records indicate that during the Han Dynasty, there were four noble Hunnic surnames: Lan, Qiao, Huyan, and Xupu, among which the Qiao clan was included. Later, they merged with the Han Chinese Qiao clan.
3. From the Xianbei People: During the Wei, Jin, Southern, and Northern Dynasties, there were also Xianbei people with the surname Qiao, and their descendants have continued to carry this surname to this day.

Migration and Distribution

The Qiao Clan originated from the burial site of the Yellow Emperor in Shaanxi Province. During the Western Han Dynasty, Qiao Xuan from Suiyang served as the Grand Commandant. His sixth-generation descendant, Qiao Qin, fled to Guanzhong with Emperor Xiaowu of Wei at the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Additionally, according to the "Qian Dai Lu," during the Warring States period, the noble Hunnic clan Qiao migrated and settled in regions such as Yan, Qin, and Zhao. During the same period, there was Qiao Bi in the State of Lu; Qiao Ren from the Western Han Dynasty was from the State of Liang and studied the "Rites" under Dai Sheng. Qiao Ren wrote 69 chapters of the "Liji Zhang Ju" and served as the Grand Master of Rites during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han. Qiao Mao, a fifth-generation descendant of Qiao Xuan, was the governor of Dongjun in the Eastern Han Dynasty and later became the governor of Guangling. His son, Qiao Su, was the governor of Donglai. These records show that the Qiao Clan was already present in present-day Shaanxi, Hunan, Jiangsu, and Shanxi before the Song Dynasty. Although there are few historical records about the changes in the Qiao Clan's distribution, prior to the Song Dynasty, it was mainly found in Shaanxi, Hunan, and Jiangxi. During the Song and Yuan dynasties, members of the clan migrated to Henan, Zhejiang, and Yunnan. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, they also moved to Jiangxi, Shandong, Shanghai, and Hubei. To this day, there are still communities of the Qiao Clan in some areas of the Northeast. According to research by the Institute of Genetics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Qiao Clan is the 96th most common surname in China. There are also Qiao descendants in countries like Singapore.

Clan Halls (Tang Hao)

1. Wen Hui Tang: Qiao Xingjian from the Song Dynasty served as a transport official in Huaixi and later as a minister of state, submitting multiple petitions to the court on political matters. He was appointed as the Right Chancellor and granted the title of "Duke of Lu," and after his death, he was posthumously honored with the title "Wen Hui."
2. Liang Guo Tang: Another notable clan hall.

Genealogical Records

• Shanxi: Nine chapters of the Qiao clan's family records from Jiexi.
• Henan: Twenty-two volumes of the Qiao clan's genealogy from Mengjin.
• Hubei: The Qiao clan's genealogy from Xiaogan.
• Sichuan: The Qiao clan's family records from Xindu.
• Beijing: Two volumes of the Qiao clan's records, as well as continued revisions and three volumes of the clan's branches.