Wen Clan#

Clan Name: Wen, Pronunciation: wēn

Regions Where the Wen Clan is Distributed#

• Pingyuan Commandery: Established during the Western Han Dynasty. It corresponds to the area around present-day Pingyuan County in northern Shandong Province.
• Taiyuan Commandery: Established by the Qin Dynasty during the Warring States period. The administrative center was Jinyang, located in present-day Taiyuan City, Shandong Province.
• Ji Commandery: Established during the Jin Dynasty. It corresponds to the area around present-day Ji County in Henan Province.
• Qinghe Commandery: Established during the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Han. It corresponds to the area from Qinghe in Hebei Province to Linqing in Shandong Province.

Origin of the Wen Clan#

The origin of the Wen clan can be traced back to five different sources:

1. From the Ji Clan: The clan name was derived from the name of the fief granted. In the early Western Zhou Dynasty, King Wu of Zhou enfeoffed his son, Shuyu, in Tang, who was known as Tang Shuyu. Descendants of Tang Shuyu were later granted the fief of Wenei (present-day Wen County, Henan Province), and they adopted the name of their fief as their clan name.
2. From the Xi Clan: Again, the clan name was derived from the name of a town. According to records such as "Guangyun" and "Wanxing Tongpu," in the early Zhou Dynasty, Su Fensheng served as the Minister of Justice and was granted the fief of Wen. In 650 BC, the state of Wen was conquered by the Northern Di people, and the ruler, Wen Zi, fled to the state of Wei, where he adopted the Wen clan name. Later, when the state of Jin conquered the Di people, Wen became the fief of Xi Zhi, a high-ranking official in Jin. Xi Zhi commanded the Jin army in the Battle of Yaling and became a powerful minister, which caused jealousy among other officials. Emperor Li of Jin, dissatisfied with Xi Zhi's power, sought an opportunity to eliminate this powerful clan. During a hunting expedition, Xi Zhi's rival, Meng Zhang, stole a wild boar that Xi Zhi had hunted, which led to Xi Zhi's death at Meng Zhang's hands. This event inspired Emperor Li to eliminate the Xi clan. When the Xi clan learned of this, they decided to attack Emperor Li first, but Xi Zhi chose to die rather than rebel. As a result, the Xi clan was eliminated. Some of Xi Zhi's descendants fled abroad and adopted the name of their fief as their clan name.
3. From the Gaoyang Clan: Descendants of the Gaoyang Clan were granted the fief of Wen. According to the "Tang Wenhou Stele," descendants of Zhuanxu Gaoyang adopted the name of their fief as their clan name.
4. Among the Hui people: The Wen clan also exists among the Hui ethnic group, originating from the Su Lu kingdom (present-day Sulu Island in the Philippines) during the Ming Dynasty. The Eastern King of Su Lu, Baduga Baha Li, and his descendants adopted the name of their fief as their clan name.
5. From other clans: Some members of the Wen clan changed their clan names from other ethnic groups. For example, according to "Xue Wenbo's 'Hui Hui Xing Shu,' there were Hui families in Baoding, Hebei, who claimed their ancestors were from the Mongolian region of Wendulu. They adopted the names "An" and "Wen" based on the names of places in Mongolia.

Ancestral Figure: The founder of the Wen clan is Wen Ji, also known as Xi Zhi. His family held high positions in the state of Jin. During the Battle of Yaling against the Chu people, Xi Zhi provided strategic advice and led the troops, earning great honor. However, his achievements led to jealousy, and he was eventually killed by Emperor Li of Jin's chef, Meng Zhang. His descendants honored him as the founder of the Wen clan.

Migration and Distribution: The Wen clan, which originated in Henan, migrated to Qilian Mountain in Gansu during the early Western Zhou Dynasty and merged with the ancient Kangju kingdom. Some members who did not cross the mountain settled in southern Xinjiang, establishing the state of Wensu (present-day Wensu County). In the early Western Han Dynasty, a descendant of Wen Ji named Wen He moved to Taiyuan and established the Taiyuan branch of the clan. The clan gradually spread to Qinghe, Zaoqiang in Hebei, and various counties in Shandong, forming the Taiyuan and Qinghe branches of the Wen clan. During the Jin Dynasty's civil unrest, the Wen clan moved south with the Jin royal family. After the Ming Dynasty, some members migrated to other regions in China, including Fujian and Guangdong.

The Wen clan is primarily found in Shandong and Hebei provinces. Some members also changed their clan names from other ethnic groups during different periods.