The Song Family#

Surname: Song, pronounced as “sòng”

Regions where the Song surname is prevalent#

• Xi’an City
• Xixihe County

Origins of the Song surname#

1. The surname “Song” originates from the Zi clan, with the name of a state being used as the surname. King Wu of Zhou granted the eldest son of King Di Yi of Yin, Weizi Qi, the territory of Song. As recorded in “Tongzhi·Shizú Lüè”: “The people of Song belong to the Zi clan and are descendants of the Shang dynasty.” The origin of the Zi clan is widely recognized.
2. It also originates from the Ji clan, stemming from Ji Song, a noble official of the Zheng state during the Spring and Autumn period, who adopted his ancestor’s name as his surname. Ji Song, styled Zigong, was a prominent noble official of the Zheng state and a close friend of another noble official named Ji Guisheng (styled Zijia).
3. Some individuals adopted the Song surname after changing their ethnicity or receiving it as a grant.
4. Some claim to be direct descendants of the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan; this is indicated by the mention of Songshan, the place where Chi You, a rebel of the Yellow Emperor, fled, as recorded in the “Classic of Mountains and Seas.” Archaeological findings from the middle Shang dynasty, including oracle bone inscriptions, contain the character for “Song,” supporting this claim.

Distribution of the Song surname

The current population with the Song surname exceeds 9 million, making it the 23rd most common surname in China, accounting for approximately 0.72% of the national population. The majority of Song descendants live in the provinces of Shandong, Henan, Hebei, and Heilongjiang, which together account for around 43% of the total Song population. Other significant populations are found in Liaoning, Sichuan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Shanxi, Jilin, Hunan, and Anhui, which together account for another 34%. Shandong serves as the province with the highest concentration of Song descendants, accounting for 14% of the total. Three major regions with a high proportion of Song descendants are Hebei-Shandong-Henan, Sichuan-Hubei, and Heilongjiang-Jilin-Liaoning.

A distribution map shows that the Song surname is relatively common in North China, the Central Plains, provinces along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and the Northeast region. In areas such as Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu, Beijing-Tianjin, northern Jiangsu-Anhui-Hubei, most of Shaanxi, central Gansu, central and eastern Inner Mongolia, and central Sichuan, the proportion of Song descendants often exceeds 0.81%, with the highest concentrations reaching over 2.2% in certain areas, covering about 29% of the national territory and housing approximately 65% of the Song population. In other regions, such as northern and eastern Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia, northern and eastern Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, northern Hunan, northern Jiangsu-Anhui-Hubei, and Shanghai, the proportion of Song descendants ranges from 0.54% to 0.81%, covering about 22% of the national territory and housing approximately 23% of the Song population.

Notable individuals with the Song surname

• Song Yu: A poet and writer from the Chu state during the Warring States period, considered a disciple of Qu Yuan and once served as an official under King Qingxiang of Chu. His works include “Jiubian,” “Fengfu,” “Gaotangfu,” and “Dengtuzi Haosefu.”
• Song Ci: A person from the Song dynasty, styled Huifu, with ancestral roots in Nanhe County, Xingtai, Hebei. A descendant of the Tang dynasty chancellor Song Zhi, he lived in Jianyang and was a renowned forensic scientist, often referred to as the “father of forensic science.” His work “Xiyuan Jilü” is one of the earliest specialized works on forensic science in the world.
• Song Yingxing: A scientist from Fengxin, Jiangxi, who lived during the Ming dynasty. His book “Tiangong Kaowu” (3 volumes, 18 chapters) is a comprehensive scientific work on ancient Chinese handicrafts and agricultural production techniques, with significant international influence.
• Song Jiaoren: (April 5, 1882 – March 22, 1913), styled Duncu, styled Yufu, of Han ethnicity from Taoyuan, Hunan. He was assassinated in Shanghai in 1913 at the age of 32 and was a leading figure in China’s democratic revolution and one of the first proponents of a cabinet system in the Republic of China.
• Soong Ching-ling: The late Honorary President of the People’s Republic of China, wife of Sun Yat-sen. A renowned figure for her patriotism, internationalism, and communism, she was an outstanding international politician and a brilliant leader of the People’s Republic of China.