The Guan Family#

Surname: Guan, pronounced as “guān”.

Distribution of the Guan Family#

• Longxi: The Guan commandery was established in the 27th year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin during the Warring States period (280 BCE), corresponding to the areas of Dongxiang and Lintao in present-day Gansu Province.
• East Sea: There are two locations associated with the Guan commandery. The East Sea commandery in the Han dynasty was located in the vicinity of present-day Tancheng, Shandong Province. During the Eastern Wei, Sui, and Tang dynasties, the East Sea commandery covered the area east of present-day Donghai County in Jiangsu Province and north of the Huai River.

Origin of the Guan Surname#

The origin of the Guan surname can be traced to three main sources:

1. Descendants of Emperor Zhuanxu: Emperor Zhuanxu was the grandson of the Yellow Emperor and one of the Five Emperors, known for his virtue. During the reign of Emperor Shun, Zhuanxu’s descendant, Dongfu, was responsible for raising dragons and was granted the surname “Huanlong” (meaning “dragon tamer”). In ancient times, the characters “huan” and “guan” were interchangeable, so “Huanlong” was also written as “Guanlong.” At the end of the Xia dynasty, during the reign of King Jie, Dongfu repeatedly advised the king against his immoral behavior but was killed for his efforts. His descendants simplified their surname to “Guan” and revered him as the progenitor of the Guan family. The Xia people were mainly active in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, including regions in Henan and Shanxi. The capital of the Xia dynasty was located in Anyi, which is north of present-day Xia County, Shanxi Province. It is said that the founder of the Guan family, Guanlong, was from Anyi.
2. Descendants of Guan Yinxi: During the Spring and Autumn period, a descendant of Guan Yinxi adopted his official title as his surname. Guan Yinxi was in charge of a strategic pass. Seeing the decline of the Zhou royal family, Laozi wished to leave the Zhou realm and travel west. When he passed through Hangu Pass, Guan Yinxi, who was in charge of the pass, greatly admired Laozi’s wisdom and requested that Laozi write a book for him. Laozi wrote the “Tao Te Ching,” expounding his philosophical ideas. After Laozi’s death, it is said that Guan Yinxi also became an immortal. His descendants adopted his official title as their surname, with this branch of the Guan family mainly thriving in the border area between Shandong and Jiangsu.
3. Conversions by ethnic minorities: Some ethnic minorities changed their surnames to Guan. For example, descendants of the Manchu surnames Guarjia and Wuzhala during the Qing dynasty adopted the Guan surname. For instance, Guan Teng, a military officer during the Jiaqing period, belonged to the Guarjia clan of the Yellow Banner, while Guan Bao, a deputy commander in Heilongjiang during the Daoguang and Xianfeng periods, belonged to the Wuzhala clan of the Yellow Banner.

Hall Names (Tanghao):

“Zhongyi Hall” (Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness): During the Song dynasty, Feng Youjun served as a marquis in both Yangzhou and Zhenjiang and later as the military governor of Jingzhou. When Sun Quan of Eastern Wu launched a surprise attack on Jingzhou, Guan Yu was caught between two enemies and died a heroic death for the Han dynasty. He was posthumously honored as “Zhuangmiao” and granted the title of King Wu’an. During the Ming dynasty, he was further revered as the “Great Emperor of Loyalty and Righteousness Who Protected the Nation.” Therefore, the Guan family is also known as the “Zhongyi Hall.” In the third year of the Republic of China, Guan Youjun was worshiped alongside Yue Fei in the Temple of War, where they were both honored as “Sages of War” (with Confucius being the Sage of Literature).