The Yang Family#

Surname: Yang, pronounced as “yáng”

Regions Where the Yang Surname Is Found#

• Hongnong Commandery: During the Western Han Dynasty, Hongnong County was located at the old Hangu Pass and is now north of Lingbao, Henan Province. It was the administrative center of Hongnong Commandery, encompassing the area south of the Yellow River and west of Yiyang. From the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the name of the commandery was changed several times to Hengnong Commandery.
• Tianshui Commandery: In the Western Han Dynasty, the administrative center of Tianshui Commandery was Pingxiang (northwest of Tongwei, Gansu Province). During the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was renamed Hanyang Commandery and the center was moved to Jixian (southeast of Gangu, Gansu Province). The Wei Dynasty restored the original name Tianshui Commandery. In the Jin Dynasty, the administrative center was moved to Shangbang (today's Tianshui City). During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Tianshui Commandery was also known as Qinzhou Commandery.
• Henei Commandery: In ancient times, the area north of the Yellow River was considered Henei, while the areas south and west of the river were called Hewai. Henei Commandery was established during the Chu-Han period and governed the western part of present-day Henan Province, with its administrative center in Huai County (southwest of Wuzhi, Henan Province). During the Western Jin Dynasty, the center was moved to Ye Wang (present-day Qinyang, Hunan Province). In the Sui Dynasty, Ye Wang was renamed Henei County. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Henei Commandery was also known as Huaizhou Commandery. In the Yuan Dynasty, it was part of the Huaiqing Circuit. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was known as Huaiqing Prefecture. The name Henei County remained unchanged and often served as the administrative center. During the Republic of China, Henei County was renamed Qinyang. The founding ancestor of this branch of the Yang family was Yang Bao, a general under King Huan of Han.

Origins of the Yang Surname#

1. Deriving from the Ji Surname: According to the “Yuanhe Xing Zuan,” King Wu of Zhou granted the fief of Tangyi (Yicheng, Shanxi Province) to his uncle Yu. From Yu descended Gongzi Qi, who was granted the title of Marquis of Yang, taking the state name as his surname.
2. A Surname of the Di Ethnic Group During the Sixteen Kingdoms Period: According to the “Jin Shu,” the Di people had the Yang surname and lived in Qiuchi (Qiuchi Mountain, Gansu Province) for generations.
3. Changing from a Multiple-Surname to a Single-Surname: During the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Di family with the surname “Mo Hulü” changed to the Chinese character “Yang.”
4. Taking the Name of a City: In ancient times, there was a place called “Yangshi Yi.” As descendants of the Yellow Emperor, the Yang surname can be traced back to this ancestor.
5. Granted or Changed as a Surname: For example, after Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty moved the capital to Luoyang and implemented sinicization policies, the “Mo Hulü” family changed to the single Chinese character “Yang.”
6. Migration: The origin of the Yang surname is in present-day Shanxi Province. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (770–221 BCE), some Yang people migrated from Shanxi to Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, spreading along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. After the Qin and Han dynasties, some moved to Henei and Fengyi (present-day Dali, Shaanxi Province). After the Yang family was defeated by the Jin dynasty, they migrated westward, first to Shaanxi and then to Huoxian County in the middle reaches of the Fen River in Shanxi Province, from where they spread to present-day Henan Province. By the Han Dynasty, the Yang surname was widely distributed in northern China. They also migrated to Sichuan from Hubei and Shaanxi. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, some Yang people moved to the Jianghan region (present-day Qianjiang, Hubei Province). Due to the growing power of the Chu state, they were forced to migrate further southeast to Jiangxi. During the Jin and Tang dynasties, the Yang surname flourished in both the north and south of China. The major migration periods were the end of the Western Jin Dynasty (the “Yongjia Rebellion”), the Tang Dynasty (the “An Lushan Rebellion”), and the Song Dynasty (the “Jingkang Rebellion”), when many Yang people fled chaos, with Fujian becoming a significant center of migration. After the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Yang surname continued to spread to Hebei, Shandong, Inner Mongolia, Anhui, Hunan, eastern Zhejiang, Guangdong, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, and Guangxi.

The founding ancestor of this branch of the Yang family is Yang Bao, a general under King Huan of Han.

Distribution of the Yang Surname#

The Yang family originated in present-day Shanxi Province and was later conquered by the Jin dynasty. To escape chaos, some Yang people migrated from Shanxi to Jiangsu and Anhui provinces during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (770–221 BCE), spreading along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. After the Jin dynasty, they migrated westward, first to Shaanxi and then to Huoxian County in the middle reaches of the Fen River in Shanxi Province, from where they spread to present-day Hen