The Sheng Family#

Surname: Sheng, pronounced as “shèng”.

Geographic Distribution of the Sheng Family#

The Sheng family is mainly found in the central and southern parts of Henan Province, specifically in the county of Shangcai.

Origins of the Sheng Surname#

There are three main origins of the Sheng surname:

1. Derived from the Ji surname, with the family name being based on the name of a state. According to “Xing Kao,” after the Zhou Dynasty overthrew the Shang Dynasty, many states with the same surname were established, and the Ji state was one of them.
2. The surname originated from a paternal name that was later changed. Another branch of the Sheng family came from the ? (pronounced “Shì”) surname, which was changed during the late Western Han Dynasty. In the early Western Zhou Dynasty, there was a prominent minister named Shao Gong; one of his descendants adopted his name as their surname. During the reign of Emperor Yuan of the Western Han Dynasty, because the emperor’s name was Liu ?, people had to avoid using that name, so those with the ? surname changed it to Sheng.
3. Some members of the Sheng family came from ethnic minorities who changed their surnames. During the Qing Dynasty, some members of the Manchu Eight Banners clan with the surname Shengjia changed it to the Han surname Sheng.

Ancestor of the Sheng Family: Shao Gong.

The ancestor of the Sheng family is Shao Gong from the Yan state during the Zhou Dynasty. Since he was granted a fief at Zhao (now southwest of Qishan, Shaanxi Province), he was also known as Shao Gong or Shao Bo. Shao Gong played a significant role in helping King Wu of Zhou overthrow the Shang Dynasty and was later granted a fief in Yan. His descendants adopted his name as their surname. During the reign of Emperor Yuan of the Western Han Dynasty, they changed their surname from ? to Sheng to avoid the emperor’s name. The descendants of Shao Gong are revered as the founders of the Sheng family.

Migration and Distribution During the Pre-Qin period, the Sheng family was active in Hebei and Shandong provinces. By the Qin and Han dynasties, they had become a prominent family in the ancient Wu state, which is now Jiangsu Province. In the Song Dynasty, the Sheng family had a population of less than 60,000, accounting for about 0.08% of the national population, ranking 160th. The Sheng family is mainly distributed in Zhejiang, Hunan, Henan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Anhui, and Jiangsu. Zhejiang is the province with the largest population of the Sheng family, accounting for approximately 29% of the total. In the Ming Dynasty, the Sheng family had a population of about 170,000, accounting for 0.18% of the national population, and they entered the top 100 largest families in China. Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shaanxi were the regions with the highest concentration of the Sheng family, accounting for about 79% of the total population. Today, the Sheng family has a population of over 700,000 and ranks 175th among Chinese surnames, accounting for about 0.056% of the national population. The population of the Sheng family has increased significantly over the past 1,000 years. Currently, the largest population of the Sheng family is in Hunan, accounting for about 15% of the total. Hunan, Zhejiang, Anhui, and Jiangsu are the main regions with the Sheng family, accounting for about 52% of the total population. The rest of the Sheng family is distributed in Shanghai, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Shaanxi, and Jilin, accounting for another 26%. A large concentration of the Sheng family is found in a region stretching from Hunan in the west to the Yangtze River Delta in the east.

Notable People with the Sheng Surname

• Sheng Du: A native of Yuhang during the Song Dynasty, he was sent to Shaanxi to survey the territory and studied the historical records of the Han Dynasty. He created a map of the Western Regions and was praised for his extensive knowledge. Sheng Du was a lifelong learner who always carried books with him and was skilled in writing. He contributed to the compilation of “Tong Dian” and “Wen Yuan Ying Hua.” He also wrote books such as “Yu Gu,” “Yin Tai,” “Zhong Shu,” and “Shu Zhong Zhu Ji.”
• Sheng Mao: A famous painter from the late Yuan Dynasty, whose exact birth and death years are unknown. He was from Wutang, Jiaxing (now in Zhejiang Province). His paintings, along with those of Wu Zhen, Yue Yanguo, and Zhang Wenmao, were known as the “Four Wonders of Wutang.” His works include “Autumn Forest Hermit,” “Autumn River Crossing,” “Pine Shadow Hermit,” and “Pine and Stone.” His father, Sheng Hong, was a professional painter during the early Song and Yuan dynasties, and his nephew, Sheng Zhu, was summoned to the imperial court during the early Ming Dynasty.