The Qu Family Name#

Family Name: Qu, pronunciation: qū

Distribution of the Qu Family Name#

• Pingyang Commandery: Established during the Wei Dynasty of the Three Kingdoms period, its administrative center was located in the southwest of present-day Linfen County, Shanxi Province.
• Yanmen Commandery: Established by the Zhao state during the Warring States period; subsequently, Yanmen was often used as the name for commanderies, circuits, and counties for defensive purposes. The name "Yanmen Pass" originated in the early Tang Dynasty. Due to the rise of the Turks in the north, who frequently invaded, the Tang Dynasty stationed troops at Yanmen Mountain and built a fortress at the strategic location of Tiegoumen for defense.
• Shan Commandery: Its administrative center was in Shancheng (west of present-day Sanmenxia City, Henan Province).
• Jinchang Commandery: Established from Dunhuang Commandery during the Jin Dynasty; its administrative center was in the southeast of present-day Anxi, covering the areas of Anxi and Yumen. These regions were part of Dunhuang Commandery during the Sui Dynasty and were later separated to form Ganzhou-Jinchang Commandery.
• Ankang Commandery: Also known as Jinzhou, an ancient place name; established during the Western Wei Dynasty. It was renamed Xicheng Commandery during the Sui Dynasty and then Jinzhou-Ankang Commandery during the Song Dynasty, with its administrative center in Xicheng (present-day Ankang County, Shaanxi Province).

Origins of the Qu Family Name#

The Qu family name has a pure lineage and originates from two sources:

1. From the Ji surname: The name Qu became a surname based on a place name. According to "Fengsu Tongyi," during the ancient Zhou Dynasty, King Wu of Zhou granted his third son a fief in the Jin area. This prince was named Shuyu. The eighth-generation grandson of Shuyu was Duke Mu of Jin. Duke Mu granted his youngest son, Chengshi, the leadership of the region of Quwo (in the northeast of present-day Wenxi County, Shanxi Province). Chengshi's descendants adopted the name of their fief as their surname, which later became the Qu surname and has been passed down through generations.
2. From the Ju surname: The Ju surname also originates from the Ji lineage and is a descendant of the Yellow Emperor. The Yellow Emperor had a son named Qi (Houji), who was the founder of the Zhou Dynasty. Qi's son, Bu, was born with a palm pattern resembling the ancient character for "ju," hence the name Jutao. Jutao later became a leader of the Zhou people, and his descendants adopted his name as their surname.

Progenitor of the Qu Family Name

The progenitor of the Qu family is Huan Shu of Quwo. Chengshi was a native of Jin during the late Western Zhou and early Eastern Zhou periods. He was the ninth-generation descendant of King Wu of Zhou's third son, Shuyu, and the brother of Duke Mu of Jin. During the reign of Duke Chao of Jin, Chengshi was granted the fief of Quwo. Quwo was larger than the capital of Jin, and Huan Shu, known for his virtue, enjoyed the support of the people of Quwo. Later, a Jin official assassinated Duke Chao and welcomed Huan Shu to the throne. Due to the common hatred of the Jin people for the assassinator, Huan Shu returned to Quwo and died there in 732 BCE. His son, Zhuangbo of Quwo, also led an army against Jin but was unsuccessful. By the time of his grandson, Duke Wu of Quwo, the Quwo clan had grown powerful, and he overthrew three rulers of Jin, annexing the Jin territory and becoming the new lord of Jin (historically known as Duke Wu of Jin). After taking control of Jin, Duke Wu continued to use the original capital of Jin as his seat of power (present-day Yicheng, Shanxi Province) while keeping the Quwo clan in Quwo. The Quwo clan adopted the name of the region as their surname and revered Huan Shu as their progenitor.

Migration and Distribution

The Qu family name originated in the Quwo area of present-day Shanxi. For a long time after its establishment, the clan mainly lived and thrived in this region. During the Warring States period, as the Three Kingdoms divided Jin, some members of the Qu clan moved to present-day Hebei and Henan due to official positions or other reasons. Those who remained in their ancestral home of Quwo either migrated north to the Linfen area of Shanxi or south to the Sanxian area of Shanxi and Henan, eventually spreading to Shaanxi. During the Han Dynasty, the Qu clan rapidly expanded in the Linfen and Sanxian areas of Shaanxi and Henan. Another branch moved north to Yanmen Commandery, where they formed a large community. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Qu clan was numerous and prosperous in the Linfen and Sanxian areas of Shaanxi and Henan, becoming prominent in the Pingyang, Yanmen, and Shan Commanderies. In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, these regions remained important centers of the Qu family name, with Qu Huan from Anyi, Shanzhou (present-day Xia County, Shanxi Province), being a notable representative. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Qu Chengyu moved to Annam due to his official duties, and his descendants stayed there. During the Song Dynasty, especially after the Zhao Song court retreated to the east of the Yangtze River, more Qu people migrated south. In the early Ming Dynasty, the Qu clan from Shanxi, along with other groups from Hongtong, was relocated to present-day Shaanxi, Gansu, Hebei, Shandong, and Beijing. By the mid-Qing Dynasty, the Qu clan had spread to Inner Mongolia, Hubei, Guangxi, Guangdong, Yunnan, and