Zhang (surname)
Zhang is the pinyin romanization of the very common Chinese surname written ' in simplified characters and ' in traditional characters. It is spoken in the first tone: Zhāng. It is a surname that exists in many languages and cultures, corresponding to the surname 'Archer' in English for example. Chang is the Wade-Giles romanization; Cheung is commonly used in Hong Kong as romanization.
It is also the pinyin romanization of the less-common surnames ', which is the 40th name on the Hundred Family Surnames poem. There is the even-less common '.
張 was listed 24th in the famous Song-era Hundred Family Surnames, contained in the verse 何呂施張. Today, it is one of the most common surnames in the world at over 100 million people worldwide. 張 was listed by the People's Republic of China's National Citizen ID Information System as the third-most-common surname in mainland China in April 2007, with 87.50 million bearers. A commonly cited but erroneous factoid in the 1990 Guinness Book of Records listed it as the world's most common surname, but no comprehensive information from China was available at the time and more recent editions have not repeated the claim.
Romanization
張 are also commonly romanized as Chang in Taiwan and among the Chinese diaspora using the older Wade-Giles system. Both are also romanized as Cheung in Hong Kong; Cheong in Macao and Malaysia; Teo and Teoh in Teochew; Chong and Cheong in Hakka; Tsan and Tsaon among Wu Chinese varieties like Shanghainese; Cheong in Gan; and Tiong in East Malaysia and the Philippines; and Tjong, Sutiono or Thiono in Indonesia.張 is the Hanja of the Korean surname romanized Jang and Chang. It remains the Kanji for the Japanese surname romanized Chō.
In Vietnamese, 張 is the Chữ Nôm form of the Vietnamese surname Trương.
Distribution
As mentioned above, 張 is the third-most-common surname in mainland China, making up 6.83% of the population of the People's Republic of China. In 2019 it was the most common surname in exactly one provincial-level division, Shanghai municipality. In Taiwan, 張 is the fourth-most-common surname, making up 5.26% of the population of the Republic of China. In 2019 it was again the third most common surname in Mainland China.Zhang Wei has been the most common family name and given name combination in China for many years.
Among the Chinese diaspora, the name remains common but takes on various romanizations. "Chong" is the 19th-most-common surname among Chinese Singaporeans; "Chang" is the 6th-most-common surname among Chinese Americans; and "Zhang" was the 7th-most-common particularly Chinese surname found in a 2010 survey of Ontario's Registered Persons Database of Canadian health card recipients.
History
Characters
張 combines the Chinese characters and . It originally meant "to open up" or "to spread" as an arching bow, but as a common noun in modern use it is a measure word for flat objects such as paper and cloth, like the English "sheet of".Families
The traditional origin of the surname 張 is rooted in Chinese legend. The fifth son of the Yellow Emperor, Qing Yangshi, had a son Hui who was inspired by the Heavenly Bow constellation to invent the bow and arrow. Hui was then promoted to "First Bow" and bestowed the surname 張, whichwhen broken into its constituent radicalsmeans "widening bow" or "archer". Its Middle Chinese pronunciation has been reconstructed as Trjang.Other origins
- for some families, it is traced back to Xie Zhang, whose style name was Zhang Hou a noble in Jin during the Spring and Autumn period.
- from the family of Zhang Liao, an official in Cao Wei during Three Kingdoms period. Zhāng Liao’s family had changed from Nie to Zhang to avoid association with his disgraced ancestor Nie Yi.
- the surname is also traced back to Long Youna, chief of an minority ethnic groups duringtheThreeKingdomsperiod,who was given the Chinese surname Zhang by Zhuge Liang,the prime minister of Shu.
List of persons with the surname
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Those whose original surnames at birth are Zhang are also included on this list.;Historical figures
- Zhang Yi, strategist in the Warring States period.
- Zhang Han, military general of the Qin dynasty
- Zhang Tang, official of the Western Han dynasty under Emperor Wu
- Zhang Anshi, son of Zhang Tang, official of the Han dynasty
- Zhang Liang, adviser to Liu Bang.
- Zhang Jue, leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion in the Eastern Han dynasty
- Zhang Rang, leader of the eunuch faction during the reign of Emperor Ling in the Eastern Han dynasty
- Zhang Fei, general of the Shu Han state in the Three Kingdoms period.
- Zhang Hong, official serving under the warlord Sun Quan in the Eastern Han dynasty
- Zhang Yi, general of the Shu Han state in the Three Kingdoms period
- Empress Zhang, Empress of the Shu Han state in the Three Kingdoms period
- Zhang He, general of the Cao Wei state in the Three Kingdoms period
- Zhang Liao, general of the Cao Wei state in the Three Kingdoms period
- Zhang Zhao, official of the Eastern Wu state in the Three Kingdoms period
- Zhang Chunhua, wife of the Cao Wei general Sima Yi in the Three Kingdoms period
- Zhang Ni, general of the Shu Han state in the Three Kingdoms period
- Zhang Yi, general of the Shu Han state in the Three Kingdoms period
- Zhang Bu, general of the Eastern Wu state in the Three Kingdoms period
- Zhang Hua, Western Jin dynasty official and poet.
- Zhang Liang, general and official of the Tang dynasty
- Zhang Yue, Tang dynasty chancellor and poet
- Zhang Jiuling, Tang dynasty chancellor and poet
- Zhang Jun, general of the Song dynasty
- Zhang Jiucheng, court official
- Zhang Hongfan, Yuan dynasty general
- Zhang Juzheng, Ming dynasty statesman
- Zhang Heng, Chinese scientist, mathematician and polymath who invented the first earthquake detector during the Han dynasty
- Yi Xing, Chinese mathematician, astronomor and mechanical engineer born during the Tang Dynasty, calculated the number of possible positions on a go board game.
- Zhang Shoucheng, American theoretical physicist.
- Zhang Shouwu Chinese-American mathematician.
- Zhang Yitang, Chinese-American mathematician.
- Zhang Jie, Chinese physicist.
- Liangchi Zhang, Chinese Australian mechanical engineer and scientist.
- John Zhang, medical scientist in fertility research, and in vitro fertilization. Produced the world's first three-parent baby using the spindle transfer technique in 2016.
- Feng Zhang, neuroscientist and biomedical engineer in optogenetics and CRISPR technologies.
- Guoqi Zhang speciality in electronics
- Huaguang Zhang speciality in electronics
- Jianzhong Zhang speciality in electronics
- Junshan Zhang speciality in electronics
- Wen-Hao Zhang plant physiologist and nutritionist
- Wenjun Zhang speciality in electronics
- Zhijun Zhang speciality in electronics
- Cheong Weng Chon, Macau administrator
- Zhang Aiping, Chinese communist military leader
- Zhang Chunqiao, member of the Gang of Four
- Zhang Dingfan, Chinese general
- Zhang Guohua, PLA general in the Battle of Chamdo and the Sino-Indian War
- Zhang Shicheng, Red Turban Rebellion leader.
- Zhang Tiesheng Communist politician
- Zhang Tingyu, Qing dynasty politician.
- Zhang Wentian, former General Secretary of the Communist Party of China.
- Zhang Xueliang, Manchurian warlord and Zhang Zuolin's son.
- Zhang Zhidong, Qing dynasty politician.
- Zhang Zizhong, NRA general.
- Zhang Zongchang, Shandong warlord.
- Zhang Zuolin, Manchurian warlord.
- Baby Zhang , Chinese singer and runner-up of the singing contest Super Girl.
- Chelsea Zhang, American actress
- Zhang Hanyu, Chinese actor.
- Zhang Haochen, Chinese pianist.
- Jason Zhang, Chinese pop singer.
- Jane Zhang, Chinese pop singer.
- Zhang Liyin, Chinese singer active in China and South Korea.
- Zhang Xianzi, Chinese singer.
- Zhang Yang, Chinese film director, screenwriter, and occasional actor.
- Zhang Yimou, Chinese film director and former cinematographer.
- Zhang Yixing, Chinese singer, dancer and songwriter, member of the South Korean group EXO.
- Zhang Yuan, Chinese film director
- Zhang Zhenhuan, Chinese actor and MediaCorp artiste based in Singapore.
- Zhang Yu, Chinese voice actress.
- Zhang Zining, Chinese singer, member of girl groups MERA and Rocket Girls 101.
- Zhang Chao, Qing dynasty literature and fiction writer.
- Zhang Chengzhi, Hui Muslim writer and author of History of the Soul.
- Zhang Dai, Ming dynasty writer and historian.
- Zhang Lijia, Chinese writer and author of "Socialism is Great!".
- Zhang Tianyi, Chinese left-wing writer and children's author.
- Zhang Hongliang, Chinese Maoist writer, scholar and social commentator.
- Zhang Jialong, Chinese journalist
- Zhang Renxi 17th century Chinese poetical critic
- Lifen Zhang, British-Chinese journalist, author and broadcaster
- Zhang Xinxin , Chinese writer
- Zhang Yousong, Chinese poet
- Zhang Bing, Chinese sports shooter.
- Caroline Zhang, American figure skater.
- Zhang Dan, Chinese pair skater, Zhang Hao's partner.
- Zhang Hao, Chinese pair skater, Zhang Dan's partner.
- Zhang Huimin, Chinese female athlete
- Zhang Jin, Chinese artistic gymnast
- Zhang Juanjuan, Chinese archer.
- Zhang Jun, Chinese badminton coach and former badminton player.
- Zhang Lianbiao, Chinese retired javelin thrower.
- Zhang Lijun, Chinese female curler
- Zhang Ning, Chinese badminton player.
- Zhang Shuai, Chinese tennis player.
- Zhang Tiequan, Chinese martial artist.
- Zhang Weili, Chinese mixed martial artist.
- Zhang Xi, Chinese beach volleyball player.
- Zhang Yining, Chinese table tennis player.
- Zhang Yufei, competitive swimmer.
- Zhang Yufei, gymnast and gymnastics coach.
- Zhang Yuning, Chinese footballer.
- Zhang Baokang or Sheng-yen, Chinese Buddhist monk and religious scholar.
- Zhang Daoling, founder of the Taoist sect Way of the Celestial Masters.
- Zhang Daqian Chinese artist.
- Zhang Hongbao, founder and spiritual leader of Zhong Gong.
- Zhang Mingxuan Chinese clergyman and president of the Chinese House Church Alliance.
- Zhang Qian, Han dynasty diplomat and explorer.
- Zhang Qiulin, Chinese French contralto opera singer.
- Zhang Sanfeng, semi-mythical Taoist priest in the Yuan and Ming dynasties.
- Zhang Xiao, Chinese photographer.
- Zhang Zeduan, Chinese painter.
- Zhang Zhongjing,, Han dynasty physician.
- Zhang Zilin, winner of Miss World 2007.
- James X. Zhang American health economist and academic
- zhang lang, chinese rapper
- Xinyu Zhang, Chinese businessman
- Frank Zhang, Roman demigod sired by Mars in The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan
- Elder Zhang Guo, one of the Eight Immortals in Chinese mythology.
- Zhang Taiyan, grandmaster of Hokuto Sōkaken in the manga and anime series Fist of the Blue Sky
- Zhang Wuji, the protagonist of the wuxia novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber by Jin Yong.
- Tiong Hiew King, Chinese Malaysian businessman.
- Tiong King Sing, Chinese Malaysian politician.
- Tjong A Fie or Tjong Yiauw Hian, Indonesian businessman, philanthropist, banker and Chinese Kapitan of Medan
- Cheong Chia Chieh, Malaysian businessman.
- Cheong Choong Kong, Malaysian businessman, former CEO of Singapore Airlines.
- Cheong Fatt Tze, Chinese businessman and politician.
- Cheong Jun Hoong, Malaysian diver.
- Cheong Koon Hean, Singaporean urban planner and architect.
- Cheong Kuoc Vá, Macau politician.
- Cheong Liew, Malaysian-Australian chef.
- Cheong U, Macau politician.
- Cheong Yoke Choy, Chinese-Malaysian philanthropist.
- Mother of Mencius