Jiang Surname#

Surname: Jiang, Pronunciation: jiāng

Areas with a Prevalence of the Jiang Surname#

Lankao County, Henan Province

Origins of the Jiang Surname#

The origin of the “Jiang” surname can be traced back to several sources:

1. It originates from the Ying surname and is said to be a descendant of Boyi, a virtuous minister of the great Yu.
2. It also originates from the Ji surname and was a branch of the Weng family. In the early Western Zhou Dynasty, some descendants of King Zhao were granted lands near Wengshan (located east of present-day Dinghai County, Zhejiang Province, or possibly east of Wengyuan County, Guangdong Province). They later adopted the name of their hometown, “Weng,” as their surname.
3. Another branch of the Jiang surname came from the Xiao family, which changed its name after a defeat at the hands of Huang Chao. These descendants mainly settled in Jiangwan, Wuyuan, Jiangxi Province.
4. Some individuals with the Lu surname also changed to the Jiang surname.

Population of the Jiang Surname

Today, the Jiang surname has a population of over 3.3 million people, ranking 79th among the most common surnames in China, accounting for approximately 0.26% of the national population. Over the past 600 years (since the Ming Dynasty), the population of the Jiang surname has increased by more than nine times, from 400,000 to over 3.3 million. However, the growth rate of the Jiang surname has been slower than the national average. The distribution of the Jiang surname is concentrated in four main provinces: Guangxi, Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Anhui, which together account for about 49% of the total Jiang population. Other significant populations are found in Fujian, Taiwan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hunan, and Hubei, which account for another 33%.

Notable Individuals with the Jiang Surname

• Jiang Sheng (1721–1799): A scholar from Yuanhe, Jiangsu, during the Qing Dynasty. He was expert in textual analysis and authored the “Shangshu Jizhu Yinshu” (Commentary and Explanation of the Book of Documents).
• Jiang Yuan: Grandson of Jiang Sheng, known for works such as “Shuowen Shili” (Examples of the Explanation of Characters) and “Shuowen Jiezi Yinyun Biao” (Table of Pronunciations and Rhythms for the Explanation of Characters).
• Jiang Zemin (born 1926): Born in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1946 and was elected President of the People’s Republic of China and Chairman of the Central Military Commission in March 1998.