Kuang Family#

Surname: Kuang, pronounced as kuāng

Distribution of the Kuang Family#

According to both “Junwang Baijiaxing” and “Xingshizhaolue,” the Kuang family originated from Jinyang. Jinyang was a district established during the Spring and Autumn period and served as the capital of the Jin state, later becoming part of the Zhao state. During the Han dynasty, it was turned into a county and became the administrative center of Taiyuan Commandery, located in present-day Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province.

Origins of the Kuang Family#

There are four origins for the Kuang surname:

1. Derived from the name of a district: During the Spring and Autumn period, a minister of the State of Lu named Shixiaoquan had a servant named Jiu Xu who served as the governor of Kuang District (southwest of Changyuan, Henan Province). Jiu Xu’s descendants adopted the name of the district as their surname. In the early Northern Song dynasty, to avoid the taboo of Emperor Taizu Zhao Kuangyin’s name, the surname was changed to Kang. Some descendants of the Kang family later reverted to the original Kuang surname.

2. Derived from the name of a state: In ancient times, there was a state named Kuang. During the reign of King Wu of Zhou, seven brothers named Kuang Su lived in a thatched cottage on Lushan Mountain, which led to the formation of the Lushan Kuang branch of the family.

3. Derived from the name of a district: During the Zhou period, there was a district named Kuang in the State of Zheng (southwest of Fugou, Henan Province), and local residents adopted the district name as their surname.

4. Also derived from the name of a district: During the Spring and Autumn period, there was a district named Kuang in the State of Wei (west of Ju, Henan Province), and its residents also adopted the district name as their surname.

Ancestor of the Surname: According to “Fengsu Tong,” Kuang was originally a place name. Jiu Xu, a minister of the State of Lu, served as the governor of Kuang District, and his descendants adopted the name of the district as their surname. The Kuang family originated from Kuang District and is a descendant of Jiu Xu. There were also other places named Kuang during the Pre-Qin period, but they are not related to the Kuang family in China. The Kuang family originated in Shandong and has flourished there for a long time. The prominent members of the family lived in Jinyang Commandery, which is now Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province. Therefore, Jiu Xu is considered the ancestral founder of the Kuang family.

Migration and Distribution: The Kuang surname does not rank among the top 100 surnames in Mainland China or Taiwan. During the Spring and Autumn period, the governor of Kuang District (present-day Changyuan, Henan Province) was named Jiu Xu, and his descendants adopted the surname Kuang. Kuang Heng, a chancellor and scholar of the Western Han dynasty from Donghai Cheng (present-day Zaozhuang, Shandong), was known for his love of learning. He studied by borrowing light from a neighbor’s house through a hole in the wall when he lacked a lamp. The idiom “zao bi jie guang” (borrowing light by making a hole in the wall) originates from his story. In the Zhou dynasty, there were also districts named Kuang in the States of Zheng and Wei, and residents there adopted the district name as their surname.

The Kuang family has a long history in Shandong and has been prominent in that region. The prominent members of the family lived in Jinyang Commandery, which is now Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province. Descendants of Jiu Xu are revered as the founders of the Kuang surname.