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Noble roots define the Chu surname
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THE Chu surname is unusual in China in the sense that its origins are simple to trace.
It ranks as the 225th most common surname in the country with an estimated 360,000 people using it today. The number of Chus accounts for about 0.03 percent of the Chinese population and they are mostly scattered in Zhejiang, Jiangsu provinces and the Bohai Bay region.
As recorded in “Tong Zhi – Shizu Lue” (The History of Family Clans) by historian Zheng Qiao in the Southern Song Dynasty (AD 420-479), the family of Chu originated from a man granted land in Chu Di in the Song Kingdom. He was said to be a very noble man who made a good role model. Thus, he was honored with the name “Chu Shi” (literally Chu Teacher). “Chu Shi” was later used as a title for officials in charge of the market and trading. The position was set in many kingdoms during the Spring and Autumn Period (BC 770-476), including the kingdoms Song, Wei and Zheng. The family who took the position from generation to generation eventually chose to name themselves after the position. The family gradually simplified Chu Shi to Chu.
It is so far the only known origin of the surname. No records of any other families were found to have been granted the name and no other families are known to have changed their surname to Chu.
This straightforward history has made it easy to determine that the family name first appeared in Henan Province.
People with the surname mostly lived in Henan Province during the Han Dynasty (BC 206-AD 220) and gradually migrated to today’s Hebei, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces by the Song Dynasty (960-1279). By the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) Chus were found mostly in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanxi and Hebei.
Several members of the family have earned great distinction. Chu Shaosun, a famous historian from the Western Han Dynasty (BC 206-AD 24), established Chu Shi Zhi Xue, or The School of the Chu Family.
He also contributed greatly to Sima Qian’s “Shi Ji” (The Historical Record). Chu Suiliang was one of the four top calligraphers in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) during Emperor Gaozong’s reign.
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