The Bian Family#

Surname: Bian, pronounced as “biàn”

Distribution of the Bian Family**#

Jiynan County, Shandong Province; Jiyang County, Henan Province.

Origin of the Bian Family**#

The Bian surname is one of the common surnames in China. It does not rank among the top 100 most common surnames in either mainland China or Taiwan. In contemporary China, it is ranked 269th in popularity.

Origins of the Surname “Bian”#

1. Derived from the Ji surname: The Bian surname originates from the descendants of Wu Rong, a descendant of the Yellow Emperor. They adopted the name of their state as their surname. According to the “Yuanhe Xingzuan,” the Yellow Emperor had a son named Long Miao, who in turn had a son named Wu Rong. Wu Rong’s son, Ji Ming, was granted the fief of Bian (located in present-day Bianqiao Town, east of Sishui County, Shandong Province), and is historically known as Bian Ming. His descendants adopted the name of their state as their surname.
2. Derived from the Cao surname: Another origin of the Bian surname is from Bian Zhuangzi, a descendant of Shu Zhen Duo, the sixth son of King Wen of Zhou. They adopted the name of their fief as their surname. During the Western Zhou Dynasty (over 3,000 years ago), King Wu of Zhou granted his brother Shu Zhen Duo the fief of Cao (present-day Cao County, Shandong Province). Shu Zhen Duo’s descendants adopted the name Cao as their surname.

Progenitor of the Surname: Bian Sui

As early as the late Xia Dynasty (over 3,700 years ago), there was a famous individual with the surname Bian, recorded in the “Lüshi Chunqiu.” Bian Sui was a nobleman who declined the offer of the throne from King Tang of Shang and the advisor Yi Yin after the conquest of King Jie of Xia. He said, “If those who succeed Jie plot against me, they will see me as a traitor; if they give me the throne after defeating Jie, they will see me as greedy. I was born in a turbulent times, and I cannot bear to hear such things again.” Bian Sui then committed suicide by jumping into the Ying River. His descendants adopted the surname Bian.

Migration and Distribution

The Bian surname does not rank among the top 100 most common surnames in either mainland China or Taiwan. In contemporary China, it is ranked 269th in popularity. During the late Xia Dynasty, there was already a famous figure with the surname Bian, Bian Sui, mentioned in the “Lüshi Chunqiu.” According to this text, Bian Sui refused the throne and chose to die rather than accept it.

Another branch of the Bian family emerged around 3,000 years ago during the Zhou Dynasty in the area of present-day Dingtao County, Shandong Province. This branch is mentioned in the “Xingzuan,” which states that descendants of Cao Shu Zhen Duo adopted the name of their fief as their surname. This branch gave rise to the Cao and Bian surnames. It is clear that the Cao and Bian families share a common origin. To this day, in certain regions of Shandong and Jiangsu, there is a custom that the Cao and Bian families do not intermarry, reflecting the historical reasons behind this tradition.

Notable Figures with the Surname Bian

• Bian He: A native of the State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period, known for discovering the famous “He Shi Bi” (Jade Disk of He Shi).

• Bian Wenyu: A painter from Changzhou (present-day Suzhou) who was skilled in depicting landscapes. His works include “Landscape Pictures” (collected in the Jilin Provincial Museum), “Autumn Scenery of Mountains and Rivers” (collected in the Shanghai Museum), “Embroidered Buddha in a Mountain Tower” (collected in the Palace Museum in Beijing), and “Mountains and Rivers in the Smoke of Longevity” (collected in the Palace Museum in Beijing).