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Surname Wei originated in Henan, has royal history
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WEI, which literally means “defend” in Chinese, is a surname with a short royal history in China. There are an estimated 550,000 people surnamed Wei in China. They make up about 0.044 percent of the Chinese population.
The family of “Ji,” as a royal family in the Western Zhou Dynasty (c.11th century – 771 BC), is a major source for “Wei” as a family name.
Kang Shu, the eighth son of King Wen of Zhou surnamed Ji, was granted the land of today’s Qi County in Henan Province, and established the Wei Kingdom. The kingdom was defeated by the Qin Kingdom. To commemorate the conquered kingdom, the royal family of Ji renamed themselves Wei.
The family of Yao, an offspring branch of the legendary monarch Shun, also established a Wei Kingdom as recorded in “Jun Guo Zhi,” a geographic book by Sima Biao in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-220). They also changed their surnames to Wei when they were conquered.
Other people have changed their surnames to Wei for different reasons throughout history. They include the famous General Wei Qing, who defeated the Huns seven times, protecting the territory of the Western Han Dynasty. He was originally surnamed Zheng.
Another talented general who defended the Ming Dynasty from attacks by Japanese pirates for dozens of years was also named Wei Qing, though he never changed his name.
Many minority people changed their surnames to Wei and many other Chinese surnames in the process of merging with the Han group.
Wei, as a surname, is originated from today’s Henan Province. Many people surnamed Wei moved to the north of Hebei Province in the Qin Dynasty (BC 221-206). Their traces were widely found in Henan, Shanxi, Shandong, Hebei, Shaanxi, Sichuan and Jiangsu in the Wei (AD 220-265) and Jin (AD 317-420) dynasties, and formed two prominent families — “Chenliu Wei” and “Hedong Wei.” The “Chenliu Wei” was centered in today’s Chenliu Town of Henan Province, while the “Hedong Wei” refers to the Weis who dwelled in the east region of the Yellow River in Shaanxi Province.
The families surnamed Wei had expanded all over China by the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Apart from the two famous generals, the family of Wei is also known for a male beauty — Wei Jie. Born into an influential family, Wei Jie is known not only as a respected metaphysician, but also a beautiful man.
It is said that Wei always rode a goat-cart rather than horse or ox carts, as the white goats perfectly set off his skin. He always attracted crowds eager to appreciate his beauty whenever he rode his cart on the street.
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