The Shang Clan#

Surname: Shang, pronounced as “shāng”.

Areas of Distribution of the Shang Clan#

• Runan Commandery: Established during the Han Dynasty, its administrative center was Shangcai (now in the northwest of Shangcai County, central Henan Province, and north of the Huai River in Anhui Province). During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the capital was moved to Xuanghu City, which is today's Runan. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Runan Commandery was renamed Caizhou (also known as Yuzhou).
• Jingzhao Commandery: This was the direct jurisdiction of the capital. Established by the Wei State during the Three Kingdoms period, its administrative center was Chang'an (today's Xi'an, Shaanxi Province), covering the area north of the Qinling Mountains, east of Xi'an, and south of the Wei River.
• Puyang Commandery: This commandery roughly corresponded to the present-day areas of Huaxian, Puyang, and Fan County in Henan Province, as well as Yuncheng and Juancheng in Shandong Province.

Origins of the Shang Surname#

The Shang surname can originate from various sources:

1. It may have arisen from the Zi surname, descended from the nobility of the ancient Shang Dynasty, taking the name of the state as their surname.
2. Another theory suggests that Gao Xin, a 25th-generation descendant of King Tang of Shang, retired to live east of Shangcheng and adopted the name Shang.
3. According to legend, a great-grandson of the Yellow Emperor adopted the place name (present-day Shang County, Shaanxi Province) as his surname.
4. Some Shang people may have adopted this surname after sinicization from the Manchu ethnic group.
5. Some also derived their surname from the Ji surname, descending from Shang Yang, a high-ranking official of the Qin State during the Spring and Autumn period, taking the name of his fief as their surname.

Progenitors of the Shang Surname: Qi, King Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang), and Shang Yang.

Migration and Distribution

The Shang clan is an ancient, multi-ethnic group. It ranks 244th among the most common surnames in China and 210th in Taiwan Province, with a population of approximately 393,000 people, accounting for about 0.024% of the national population. The most prominent branches of the clan originated from Runan Commandery. During the Pre-Qin period, historical figures such as Shang Ze and Shang Qu, disciples of Confucius, were from the state of Lu. By the Warring States period, the Shang surname had spread to areas such as Shangqiu in Henan, Shang County in Shaanxi, and Qufu in Shandong. During the Han Dynasty, the clan further dispersed to Pingyu in Henan, Xi'an in Shaanxi, and the Puyang area at the border of Henan and Shandong. During the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Shang clan expanded from these three commanderies to surrounding regions, including present-day Gansu, Shanxi, Hebei, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Hubei. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Shang clan continued to thrive in the north, while also gaining prominence in the southern provinces. After the Southern Song Dynasty moved its capital to the south of the Yangtze River, the Shang surname's presence in the south expanded further, with members settling in Jiangxi, Sichuan, and Hunan. In the early Ming Dynasty, some Shang people from Shanxi were relocated to other regions. During the Qing Dynasty, some members of the Shang clan from Shandong, Henan, and Hebei migrated to the northeastern provinces of China and Inner Mongolia. Over time, members of the Shang clan also migrated to Taiwan from the eastern and southern coastal areas of China.

Notable Figures with the Shang Surname:

• Shang Gao: A mathematician from the Zhou Dynasty who wrote China's first mathematics textbook, “Zhou Bi Suan Jing.”
• Shang Ze: A person from the state of Lu at the end of the Spring and Autumn period, a disciple of Confucius, and one of the “Seventy-two Sages.”
• Shang Qu: Also from the state of Lu, a disciple of Confucius who was 29 years younger than Confucius.
• Shang Yang: A key figure in the unification of China during the Warring States period.
• Shang Ting: A minister in the early Yuan Dynasty, known for his poetry and calligraphy; he authored the “Cang Chun Ji” (6 volumes).

The Shang clan is one of the oldest and most widespread multi-ethnic surnames in China. It ranks 244th among the most common surnames nationwide and 210th in Taiwan Province.