The Wen Clan#

Clan Name: Wen, pronounced as “wén”

Distribution of the Wen Clan#

Yanmen Commandery: Established during the Warring States period by King Wuling of Zhao. During the Qin and Western Han dynasties, its administrative center was in Shanwu (located to the south of present-day Youyu, Shanxi). This area corresponds to the region north of present-day Hequ, Wuzhai, and Ningwu counties in Shanxi, west of the Hengshan Mountains, and south of the Huangqi Sea and Dai Sea in Inner Mongolia. During the Eastern Han dynasty, the administrative center was moved to Yinguan (northwest of present-day Dai County, Shanxi).

Origins of the Wen Clan#

There are five possible origins for the surname “Wen”:

1. Derived from the Ji surname, it was named after an honorary title. According to historical records such as “Fengsu Tongyi,” towards the end of the Shang dynasty, the Zhou tribe, which resided in the Wei River basin, gradually grew powerful. The Shang king Wen Ding, fearing the threat posed by the Zhou, found an excuse to kill Ji Li, a leader of the Ji clan. After Ji Li’s son Ji Chang ascended to the throne, he worked diligently to improve the state and gained widespread support, earning the title of “Xibo” from King Zhou of Shang. Due to Xibo’s high reputation, King Zhou imprisoned him, only to later release him. Upon Xibo’s return to Zhou, he was assisted by the wise minister Jiang Shang and subsequently conquered states such as Yu, Rui, and Li (located to the southwest of present-day Changzhi, Shanxi) and Chong (north of present-day Song County, Henan). He established Fengyi (west of the Feng River in present-day Chang’an, Shaanxi) as the capital, establishing a tripartite division of power that surpassed the Shang dynasty. Xibo ruled for 50 years. After his death, his son King Wu of Zhou fulfilled his legacy by overthrowing the Shang dynasty and founded the Zhou dynasty, with its capital in Hao (east of the Feng River in present-day Chang’an, Shaanxi). Some of Xibo’s descendants adopted his honorary title “Wen” as their surname, giving rise to the Wen clan in Shaanxi.

2. Descendants of Wen Zi, a general from the state of Wei during the Zhou dynasty. According to “Xingshi Kaolue,” the state of Wei, established in the early Western Zhou period (a vassal state of the Ji clan with its initial capital in Chaoge <present-day Qi County, Henan>, was later moved to Chuchiu <present-day Hua County, Henan>, and then to Diquiu <present-day Puyang, Henan>. It was conquered by the Qin dynasty in 209 BCE. During the Spring and Autumn period, a general named Sun Wenzi was a highly respected figure; his descendants adopted his surname, forming the Wen clan in Henan.

3. Descended from the Jiang surname, specifically from Jiang Wenshu, a descendant of the Yan Emperor. In the early Western Zhou period, King Wu of Zhou granted Jiang Wenshu, a descendant of the Yan Emperor, the fief of Xu <present-day Xuchang, Henan>, where he established the state of Xu. During the Spring and Autumn period, the state of Xu faced pressure from Zheng and Chu and moved its capital four times: to Ye <southwest of present-day Ye County, Henan> in 576 BCE, to Chengfu <southeast of present-day Bo County, Anhui> in 553 BCE, back to Ye in 529 BCE, and finally to Baiyu <present-day Xixia, Henan> in 524 BCE. It was conquered by the Chu dynasty in the early Warring States period (some say by the Wei dynasty). In addition to adopting the state name “Xu” as their surname, some descendants also took Wenzi (the given name of the founder of Xu) as their surname.

4. Derived from the (female) surname, which was named after an honorary title. During the Warring States period, there was a nobleman named Tian Wen from the state of Qi (now in Shandong), a grandson of King Wei of Qi. Known as Lord Mengchang, he had thousands of followers and was a prominent politician. When the nobleman Tian Jia rebelled, Lord Mengchang fled to the state of Wei (a vassal state established during the Western Zhou period, located north of present-day Ruicheng, Shanxi). He served as prime minister in Wei and was posthumously honored with the title “Wenzi.” His descendants also adopted the surname “Wen.”

5. A change in surname to avoid the name of someone with the surname “Jing.” During the Five Dynasties and Later Jin period, the surname “Jing” was changed to “Wen” to avoid offending the name of Emperor Gaozu of Jin, Shi Jingtang. For example, figures from the Song dynasty such as Wen Yanbo and Wen Tianxiang originally had the surname “Jing.” The Wen clan has a long history, with members migrating to regions such as the Jianghuai area during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. In the late Spring and Autumn period, Wen Zhong from the state of Chu served as a high-ranking official in the state of Yue, assisting King Goujian in overthrowing the state of Wu. During the Western Han dynasty, a person named Wen Weng from Lujiang County (now in Anhui) made significant contributions to local cultural development. From the Western Han dynasty to the Three Kingdoms period, the Wen clan in Henan was mainly distributed in Kaifeng, Nanyang, Yongcheng, and Gushi. The Wen Ancient City ruins in Gushi County contain Han Dynasty artifacts, indicating a long-standing presence of the clan there. After the Tang dynasty, the Wen clan spread throughout China, with a particular presence in Shanxi and the Jiangnan region. According to records,