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jǐngSeptember 28, 2025

景姓

The Jing Clan, originating from Warring States period royal families of Chu and Qi, and later including Manchu members, historically migrated from Shanxi and Shandong across China, notably settling in Danyang over 1000 years ago, forming a complex branch structure.

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The Jing Clan

Clan Name: Jing, pronounced as “jǐng”

Distribution of the Jing Clan

  • JinYang Commandery: The JinYang County was established during the Qin Dynasty and became the capital of the Zhao state. It was later renamed TaiYuan Commandery and fell under its jurisdiction; it is now located in TaiYuan City, ShanXi Province. In the early Western Han Dynasty, the TaiYuan Kingdom was established here, with JinYang as its capital. Soon after, the Bingzhou region was added to its jurisdiction. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Bingzhou was abolished, and the area was incorporated into Jizhou, with the establishment of Hengshan and Xihe commanderies.

Origins of the Jing Clan

There are three main origins for the “Jing” surname:

  1. During the Warring States period, the Jing surname originated from one of the three prominent royal families of the Chu state: Qu, Jing, and Zhao. These names were derived from the titles of fiefdoms granted to descendants of the Chu royal family. Later, Liu Bang of the Han Dynasty relocated the Chu royal family to the Central Plains. Today, the Jing clan is mainly found in ShanXi, the Guanzhong region of ShaanXi, and western Henan. During the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang gathered the Jing clan members under a large pagoda tree in HongDong and then relocated them throughout the country.

  2. Another origin relates to the descendants of Duke Jing of Qi, a monarch of the Warring States period. They adopted the name of their royal father as their surname; this branch of the Jing clan is primarily found in Shandong.

  3. Some members of the Manchu ethnic group adopted the Jing surname, mainly in the Beijing and Hebei areas.

  4. There are also cases of surname changes for various reasons, such as being granted a new surname by an emperor, changing a surname to avoid taboos or misfortunes, or simplifying a multi-syllable surname. Additionally, there have been instances of changing a single-syllable surname to a multi-syllable one, as well as changing a surname to avoid embarrassment or ridicule. During the history of surname development, sound errors and abbreviation were also common reasons for surname changes.

Migration and Distribution

The Jing clan is not among the top 100 most common surnames in mainland China or Taiwan. During the peak of the Han Dynasty, members of the Jing clan migrated from the Chu region to the Guanzhong area and settled in ShaanXi (ShanXi Province’s ShanXian County). By the Jin Dynasty, the clan had spread to ShaanXi, Fujian, Jiangsu, Hubei, and other regions. The founding ancestor of the YunYang branch of the Jing clan was Jing Jizhang, who passed the imperial examinations and was appointed as the governor of Wujin in Changzhou during the turbulent times of the Sui and Tang dynasties. His fifth-generation ancestor, Jing Shen, lived in Qingzhou (ShaanXi Province) and Zhenning (Qingyang, Gansu Province). After Jing Jizhang’s death, his sons Jing Jian and Jing Zhen were unable to return to their hometown due to the long journey and settled in TangXingli, ZheLiu Town, Danyang in the third year of the JingLong era of the Tang Dynasty (709 AD). Since there were five wells in the village that produced distinct sounds (representing the musical notes “gong, shang, jiao, zhi, yu”), the village was renamed JiaJing (meaning “Beautiful Well”). Jing Jian and Jing Zhen are revered as the ancestors of the Jing clan in Danyang. The Jing clan has lived in Danyang for over 1,000 years and has since divided into several branches, with the main branch (Gui 1 to Gui 7) leading the smaller branches. These smaller branches, in turn, have further split into additional sub-branches, creating a complex clan structure.

The Jing clan is also found in various other locations, including XingJiaDu, HengTang, DongZhuang, JiangShu, ZheLiu, DouZhuangJingJiaCun in YunYang, as well as SituCun, XuXiang, JieGou, WanMuTang, XinMiaoTou, ZhangJiaCun, DuanZhuang, DaShangXiao, NanSiQian, ChangAnQiao, BaiTaLi, ShengShuQiao, SanLiPu, LengJiaCun, DongZhuangPu, BuYiQiao, DaiZhuang, LiuZhuang, YouTang, ZheTang, GuanZhuang, MeiZhuang, WangXianQiao, DingYiHe, NanZhu, and FuCheng.