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Liu
	Liú surname in traditional Chinese characters
Pronunciation	Liú ([ljǒʊ]) (Pinyin); Lau4; Lâu (Pe̍h-ōe-jī)
Language(s)	Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean
Origin
Language(s)	Old Chinese
Other names
Variant form(s)	Liú (Mandarin); Lau (Cantonese, Hokkien); Lieu (Shanghainese); Lưu (Vietnamese); Yoo, Ryu (Korean); Ryu (Japanese); Liew (Malaysia)
See also	Lưu; Yoo (Korean surname)

劉 / 刘 (/ljoʊ/ or /ljuː/^[1]) is an East Asian surname. pinyin: Liú in Mandarin Chinese, Lau⁴ in Cantonese. It is the family name of the Han dynasty emperors. The character 劉 originally meant 'battle axe', but is now used only as a surname. It is listed 252nd in the classic text Hundred Family Surnames. Today, it is the 4th most common surname in mainland China as well as one of the most common surnames in the world.^[2]^[3]

Distribution

In 2019 劉 was the fourth most common surname in mainland China.^[4] Additionally, it was the most common surname in Jiangxi province. In 2013 it was found to be the 5th most common surname, shared by 67,700,000 people or 5.1% of the population, with the province with the most people being Shandong.^[5]

Origin

One source is that they descend from the Qí (祁) clan of Emperor Yao. For example, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty (one of China's golden ages), Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu of Han) was a descendant of Emperor Yao.

Another origin is from the Jī (姬) clan of King Qing of Zhou. For example, Duke Kang of Liu [zh], the youngest son of King Qing of Zhou, founded the State of Liu [zh] and his descendants took state names as surname.

History

Liu was a place name in ancient China (located in present-day Henan). The Liu family name has two main origins from this place name.

Kong Jia, the fourteenth king of the Xia dynasty, was given a male and a female dragon as a reward for his obedience to the god of heaven; yet he could not train them, so he hired a dragon-trainer named Liu Lei (劉累), who had learned how to train dragons from Huanlong. Liu Lei was a descendant of Emperor Yao, and won the admiration of King Kong Jia for his skill at dragon-rearing. To reward Liu Lei, King Kong Jia granted him a place called Liu as his fiefdom. Liu Lei took the name of his fief as his family name. One day, the female dragon died unexpectedly, so Liu Lei secretly chopped her up, cooked her meat, and served it to the king, who loved it so much that he demanded Liu Lei to serve him the same meal again. Since Liu Lei had no means of procuring more dragon meat, he fled the palace. Liu Lei was the first person surnamed Liu in Chinese history, and his descendant Liu Bang founded the Han dynasty.

During the Zhou dynasty, King Ding of Zhou granted the fiefdom of Liu to his younger brother, Ji Jizi (姬季子). Ji Jizi also took Liu as his family name. Eventually, Liu became a state, and Ji Jizi ruled the State of Liu as Duke Kang of Liu. After more than a hundred years under the rule of the Liu family, the State of Liu was destroyed by the central government of the Zhou dynasty.

Liu was the ruling family of the Han dynasty, one of the most prosperous and influential empires in Chinese history. The Han dynasty was founded by Liu Bang. Later, Emperor Liu Che helped expand the Han dynasty even further, ushering in a golden age for China.

The Han dynasty had 30 emperors all surnamed Liu; it was one of the Chinese dynasties with the most emperors. The Han dynasty lasted 400 years, making it one of the longest-lasting Chinese empires in history. The Han is what gives its name to the Han people as well as Han characters / Hanzi / Chinese characters.

Even after the Han dynasty, several Liu continued to hold power within China, including Liu Bei of Shu Han (whose exploits were described in the Records of the Three Kingdoms), as well as the Han-Zhao, Liu Song, Later Han, Northern Han and Southern Han dynasties.

Over history, several non-Han Chinese people have adopted the Liu surname, including Xiongnu and Turkic peoples.

Historical figures

Duke Kang of Liu [zh], son of King Qing of Zhou and founder of the State of Liu [zh]
Liu Bang, Founder of the Han dynasty as Emperor Gaozu of Han
Liu Jiao (King of Chu), the younger brother of Liu Bang and famous scholar
Liu Ying, Second Emperor of the Han dynasty
Liu Heng, Fifth Emperor of the Han dynasty
Liu Qi, Sixth Emperor of the Han dynasty
Liu Che, Seventh Emperor of the Han dynasty known for expanding the Han dynasty to its fullest extent and for a long reign of 54 years
Liu An (King of Huainan), advisor to his nephew, Emperor Wu of Han. Best known for editing the (139 BCE) Huainanzi compendium of Daoist, Confucianist, and Legalist teachings
Liu Sheng (King of Zhongshan), the direct ancestor of the Shu Han emperors, had more than 120 sons
Liu Xiang, government official, scholar, and author of who lived during the Han dynasty
Liu Fuling, Emperor of the Han dynasty
Liu He, Emperor of the Han dynasty
Liu Xun, Emperor of the Han dynasty
Liu Shi, Emperor of the Han dynasty
Liu Ao, Emperor of the Han dynasty
Liu Xin, Emperor of the Han dynasty
Liu Kan, Emperor of the Han dynasty
Liu Xin, astronomer, historian, and editor during the Han dynasty
Liu Xuan, Emperor Gengshi of the Han dynasty
Liu Yan (Xin dynasty), general and older brother of Liu Xiu
Liu Xiu, The restorer of the Han dynasty and the founding emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty
Liu Dai, politician during the Eastern Han dynasty
Liu Du (warlord), warlord and politician during the Eastern Han dynasty
Liu Yan (Han dynasty warlord), politician and warlord during the Eastern Han dynasty
Liu Biao, warlord during the late Eastern Han dynasty
Liu Zhuang, Emperor of the Han dynasty
Liu Da, Emperor of the Han dynasty
Liu Zhao, Emperor of the Han dynasty
Liu Hu, Emperor of the Han dynasty
Liu Bao, Emperor of the Han dynasty
Liu Zhi, Emperor of the Han dynasty
Liu Hong, Emperor of the Han dynasty
Liu Xie, Last emperor of the Han dynasty
Liu Bei (161–223), Founding emperor of Shu Han
Liu Shan (207–271), Second emperor of Shu Han
Liu Hong, astronomer and mathematician of the Han dynasty
Liu Hui, mathematician during the Three Kingdoms period
Liu Yan (Shu Han), general during the Three Kingdoms period
Liu Ji (Three Kingdoms), official of Eastern Wu
Liu Kun, general, poet and musician of the Western Jin
Liu Yuan, First emperor of Han-Zhao
Liu He, Second emperor of Han-Zhao
Liu Cong, Third emperor of Han-Zhao
Liu Can, Fourth emperor of Han-Zhao
Liu Yao, Fifth emperor of Han-Zhao
Empress Liu E, Empress of Han-Zhao
Liu Yu, Founder of the Liu Song as Emperor Wu of Liu Song
Liu Yilong, Emperor Wen of Liu Song
Empress Liu, Empress of Northern Song
Liu Sanjie, folk music singer during the Southern Song dynasty
Liu Zhiyuan, Founding emperor of Later Han
Liu Chong, Founding emperor of Northern Han
Liu Yan, Founding emperor of Southern Han
Liu Rengui, chancellor and general of the Tang dynasty
Liu Xiangdao, chancellor of the Tang dynasty
Liu Ji (general), general of the Tang dynasty
Liu Ji (Tang chancellor), chancellor of the Tang dynasty
Liu Yan (Tang dynasty), Chinese economist and politician during the Tang dynasty
Liu Zhan, chancellor and official of the Tang dynasty
Liu Chongwang, chancellor of the Tang dynasty
Liu Zhangqing, famous poet and politician
Liu Yuxi, famous poet and statesman
Liu Kezhuang, famous poet of southern song
Liu Xu, chancellor of Later Tang and Later Jin
Liu Bingzhong, chancellor of the Yuan dynasty
Liu Bowen, famous poet, statesman, strategist and thinker
Liu Tongxun, a politician of the Qing dynasty
Liu Yong, politician and calligrapher of the Qing dynasty
Liu Mingchuan, First Governor of Taiwan
Liu Ji (politician), (1887–1967), 11th Republic-era mayor of Beijing
Liu Shaoqi, 2nd President of the People's Republic of China
Liu Bocheng, a Chinese military commander in 20th century wars and one of the Marshals of the People's Liberation Army

Notable people

References

^ "Liu Shaoqi". Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
^ 张、王、李、赵谁最多—2010年人口普查姓氏结构和分布特点. China Statistics Bureau. 23 June 2014.
^ 最新版百家姓排行榜出炉：王姓成中国第一大姓 [Latest surname ranking: Wang is the number one surname in China]. Xinhua News Agency (in Chinese). 2013-04-15. Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-21.
^ "新京报 - 好新闻，无止境".
^ 中国四百大姓, 袁义达, 邱家儒, Beijing Book Co. Inc., 1 January 2013

External links

Chinese surname history: Liu

This page lists people with the surname Liu.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.