Author: CHUNG Yoon Ngan
Date: 04-17-12 18:39
中國姓氏故事 - 鐘姓
從古英雄成大事,---Cong2 gu3 ying xiong2 cheng2 da4 shi4,
須知半向苦中來.---Xu zhi ban4 xiang4 ku3 zhong4 lai2.
From time immemorial the heroes achieved their heroic deeds,
Mainly through hard work.
A Chinese proverb
--------------------------------------------
Surname ZHONG (鐘)
Zhong means bell
The Zhongs call themselves "The gold is heavy or 金重的鐘"
The surname Zhong is about 2,200 years old.
The surname Zhong originated in an area referred to during the Qin Dynasty
(秦朝 221BC to 207BC) as the Yingchuan prefecture (潁川郡). The present
day location of Yingchuan prefecture is in the Xuchang county (許昌縣 113.4
degree East and 34.2 degree North, on the world map) of Henan province (河
南省).
It was during the Zhou Dynasty (周朝 1134 BC to 256 BC) that in 681 BC,
Zi Yushuo (子禦說) became the 18th ruler of the State of Song (宋國 in the
present day Shangqiu county 商丘縣 of Henan province 河南省). Zi Yushuo
ruled Song until 651BC. Zi Yushuo had a son named Zi Ao (子敖) who was employed
by the ruler of the State of Jin (晉國) which was in present day Yicheng
county (翼城縣) in Shanxi province (山西省).
Zi Ao's son was called Bo Zong (伯宗) who was a wise, able and virtuous
high-ranking official in the Jin Court. Ji Min (姬緡), the 17th ruler of
Jin, who ruled Jin from 706BC to 679BC, adored Bo Zong. Unfortunately, other
officials were jealous of Bo Zong; since Bo Zong had originated from the
State of Song, in another word, Bo Zong was a foreigner. Eventually Bo Zong
was murdered.
Bo Zong had a son named Zi Zhouli (子州犁) who fled with his family to the
State of Chu (楚國 present day Jiangling county 江陵縣 in Hubei province
湖北省). Xiong Zi (熊貲), the 18th ruler of Chu, who ruled Chu from 689BC
to 674BC, welcomed him and his family.
Xiong Zi eventually appointed Zi Zhouli the Administrator of a city called
Zhongli (鐘離) which was in present day Fengyang (鳳陽) city in Anhui province
(安徽省). Zi Zhouli was then known as Zhong-Li Zhouli (鐘-離州犁).
In 518 BC, the city of Zhongli was conquered and annexed by the State of
Wu (吳國present day Wu Xian 吳 縣 in Jiangsu province 江蘇省). The descendants
of Zi Zhouli adopted ZHONGLI (鐘離) as their surname.
During the Qin Dynasty (秦朝 221BC to 207BC) a descendant of Zi Zhouli called
Zhongli Mei (鐘離昧) joined the uprising armed forces organized by Xiang
Yu (項羽) against the tyrannous Qin administration. Eventually the Qin Dynasty
was destroyed by Xiang Yu in 206 BC. However, civil war broke out between
Xiang Yu and Liu Bang (劉邦), the leader of another armed organization.
Liu Bang won the civil war that lasted until 202BC. Xiang Yu committed suicide
when he lost out to Liu Bang who founded the Han Dynasty (漢朝 206 BC to
220 AD). Zhongli Mei was killed in the battle.
In order to avoid trouble with the troops of Liu Bang the children of Zhongli
Mei were fleeing in two groups. One group settled down in the present day
of Wu Xian county in Jiangsu province, they did not changed their surname
and continued to use Zhongli (鐘離) as their surname. The other group fled
west to Yingchuan Prefecture (潁川郡) of Changshe (長 社), in present day
Changge county (長葛縣) in Henan province. They shortened their surname
to just ZHONG (鐘) and left off the word Li (離). Therefore surnames Zhong
(鐘) and Zhong-Li (鐘離) came from the same ancestor.
At the end of the Jin Dynasty (晉朝 265AD to 420AD) and in the beginning
of the period of The "Five Barbarians" and the Sixteen Kingdoms (五胡十六
國 304AD to 438AD), many Zhongs, due to famine, and the political and economic
chaos in North China, relocated themselves south of the Yangtze River (長
江) and settled in Meizhou (梅州) in Guangdong province (廣東省) and Changting
(長汀) in Fujian province (福建省) and other places in the coastal provinces.
After the reign of Emperor Jia Qing (嘉慶皇帝 1796AD to 1820AD) of the
Qing Dynasty (清朝 1644AD to 1912AD) the Zhongs from the two regions of
Meizhou and Chang Ting began to migrant to Taiwan and Southeast Asia.
The couplet of surname Zhong:
望居穎川,---Wang4 ju Yinchuan,
源自鐘離.---Yuan2 zi4 Zhongli.
--------------------------------------
Surname ZHONG (鐘姓)
The historical famous people produced by the Zhong Clan include:
(1) 鐘繇 (Zhong Yao 151AD to 230AD)
Zhong Yao was born in Chang She county in Ying Chuan prefecture (present
day Chang Ge county 長葛縣 in Henan province). He lived in the period of
the Three Kingdoms (三國時代 220AD to 265AD) and was an official. Later
he was appointed as the Tai Fu (太傅) or Imperial Tutor. He was a renowned
calligrapher of his time. People commented his calligraphy as 飛鴻戲梅﹐
舞鶴遊天 or the flying swans playing in the plum trees and dancing storks
touring in the sky. His best friend Hu Zhao (胡昭) was also a calligrapher.
People called them the Fatty Hu and Skinny Zhong because Hu Zhao was a fat
man and Zhong Yao a skinny man.
(2) 鐘紹京 (Zhong Shao 659AD to 746AD)
.....................................................................
Zhong Shao Jing was from Qian Zhou (虔州) in Jangxi province (江西省). He
was a very famous calligrapher and an official during the reigns of Emperor
Rui Zong (睿宗皇帝 710AD to 712AD) and Emperor Xuan Zong (玄宗皇帝 713AD
to 755AD). The Emperor's palace was decorated with his calligraphy. He was
bestowed the title of Duke of the State of Yue (越國公). A famous couplet
on him was:
潁川名門出大儒,---Yinghuan ming2 men2 chu da4 ru2,
越國世第仰書家.---Yue guo2 shi4 di4 yang3 shu jia.
(3) 鐘耘肪 (Zhong Yun Fang 1862AD to 1908AD)
Zhong Yun Fang was born in Jiang Jin county (江津縣) in Sichuan province
(四川省). He was a teacher throughout his working career. He was a poet
and
an expert of Lian Yu (聯語) or in constructing idiomatic sentences. He was
nicknamed "長聯聖手". One of his famous books is "振振堂集"
------------------------------------------
Note:
Surname ZHONG (鐘姓) is the 54th most common Chinese surname in the world.
Posted to asiawind.com
By CHUNG Yoon-Ngan (鄭永元)
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