The Cui Clan#

Surname: Cui, pronounced as “cuī”

Distribution of the Cui Clan#

The Cui clan is predominantly found in the areas from Qinghe in Hebei Province to Linqing in Shandong Province, as well as in the southern part of Lixian County, Hebei Province.

Origin of the Cui Clan#

There are two origins for the Cui surname:

1. The Cui surname originated from the Jiang clan. It took the name of a local district as its surname. According to records such as the “New Tang Book: Genealogy of Prime Ministers” and the “Yuanhe Genealogy,” descendants of the Yan Emperor (Shennong) and the ruler of the State of Qi during the Western Zhou Dynasty, Ding Gong, gathered provisions in the Cui district (now Zhangqiu City, Shandong Province). Their descendants adopted the name of the district as their surname, which led to the establishment of the Cui clan in Shandong.

2. The Cui surname also exists among ethnic minorities. For example, among the Manchu people, there were Cui surnames held by figures such as Cui Yaozhu and Cui Wanzhe from the Yujen tribe in northern Tieling. Other Manchu surnames include Cui Mulu, Cui Jia, and Cui Zhuk. Additionally, the Yi, Hui, Mongolian, and Tu ethnic groups also have members with the Cui surname.

Migration and Spread During the Pre-Qin period, the Cui clan served as high-ranking officials in the State of Qi and were active in the Shandong region. During the Qin and Han dynasties, the Cui clan grew rapidly and became a prominent family in Hebei Province, from where they spread to other areas. The Cui clan has a long history of serving in official positions, with 11 chancellors from Qinghe and 12 from Boling during the Tang Dynasty. After the Song Dynasty, the Cui clan became even more widespread. In the Song Dynasty, there were approximately 370,000 people with the Cui surname, accounting for about 0.48% of the national population, ranking 43rd in popularity. The main concentrations of the Cui clan were in Hebei, Shaanxi, and Henan provinces, with these three provinces accounting for about 54% of the total Cui population. Hebei was the largest province with the Cui clan, hosting 24% of the total population. During the Ming Dynasty, the Cui clan had about 350,000 members, ranking 66th in popularity nationwide. The distribution of the Cui clan shifted to Jiangsu, Shandong, Shanxi, and Hebei provinces during this period, with these four provinces accounting for 73% of the total Cui population. The population of the Cui clan has since migrated from the north to the southeast, with two main clusters forming in the northern regions of Shandong, Hebei, and Shanxi, and in Jiangsu in the south.

Notable Figures with the Cui Surname

• Cui Zhi: A historian and scholar from the Eastern Han Dynasty, from Anping in Zhuo Commandery (now part of Anping County, Hebei Province). He was as renowned as Ban Gu and Fu Yi and served as a government official. He wrote works such as “Dazhi” and was known as a great talent within the Confucian tradition.
• Cui Yuan: A famous calligrapher from the Eastern Qinghe region (now Xiajin County). His works were noted for their precision and expressive power, earning him the title “Master of Cursive Script.” He wrote “Caoshu Shi.”
• Cui Hong: A historian from the Northern Wei Dynasty, known for his work “Shiliuguo Chunqiu” (Spring and Autumn Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms).
• Cui Hao: A renowned poet from the Tang Dynasty, who held the position of Deputy Minister of Merits. His poetry ranged from romantic to passionate and heroic.
• Cui Shu: A historian from the Qing Dynasty who conducted extensive research on ancient texts and questioned the reliability of many historical records.

Current Population and Trends The current population of the Cui clan exceeds 4.2 million, making it the 58th most common surname in China, accounting for about 0.34% of the national population. Over the past 1,000 years, the population of the Cui clan has declined. The main concentrations of the Cui clan are still in Shandong, Hebei, and Henan provinces, with these three provinces accounting for 42% of the total population. Additional concentrations are found in Liaoning, Shanxi, Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, and Shaanxi provinces. The Cui clan has shown a trend of moving from the northern regions (Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi) to the southeastern regions (Jiangsu) over time, with a shift in the center of the Cui population distribution to the east.

The Cui surname is one of the more common surnames in China, particularly in the northern and northeastern regions. The frequency of the Cui surname varies across different regions, with higher proportions in areas where the clan has a long history and a strong cultural presence.