The surname Shen is one of the top fifty surnames in China and is the most influential in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
The surname Shen originated from the surname Ying. The ancestor of the surname Shen was Shi Shen, the son of Emperor Ku, a descendant of the Yellow Emperor. In fact, the Shen clan later mixed with the Shaohao clan and became Eastern Yi, so they adopted the surname Ying. Later, they established the Shen State. During King Zhao of Zhou's southern expedition, the state of Shen with the surname Ying was destroyed, and his descendants took the state as their surname.
During the Xia Dynasty, the Xia people established the State of Shen with the surname Si. By the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, the state of Jiang destroyed the state of Shen whose surname was Si. The Shen people moved south to Shenlu in the Chu region, and their descendants also changed their surname to Shen.
In the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, Ji Zai, the tenth son of King Wen, was granted a title in Shen (now north of Pingyu, Henan). In 506 BC, the State of Shen with the surname of Ji was annexed by the State of Cai, and the descendants of the State of Shen were called the Shen family.
1. Changes in the surname Shen
In the Spring and Autumn Period, the State of Chu conferred the title of Sun Shuao on Shen, and also conferred the title of Prince Zhen on Shenlu (today’s Zhongxiangdong, Hubei Province). Later generations changed their surname to Shen, and this became Mi's surname Shen.
Before the Qin Dynasty, people with the surname Shen were mainly active in Henan and Hubei provinces. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the scope of activities of the surname Shen expanded to Zhejiang. During the Sui Dynasty, the surname Shen in Wukang, Zhejiang was a prominent local family. In the Tang Dynasty, people with the surname Shen entered Fujian and later immigrated to Guangdong. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, people surnamed Shen moved to Taiwan. At present, people with the Shen surname are mainly concentrated in Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Henan provinces.
2. People named Shen
In Chinese history, people named Shen can be said to have emerged in large numbers. In the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a scholar named Shen Ying. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, an official named Shen Rong worked in Jiujiang County. In the Southern Dynasty, there was a writer named Shen Yue in Liang Dynasty, who was the author of "Song Book". During the Chen Dynasty, a right servant shot Shen Junli. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, Shen Faxing called himself "King of Liang" and established a separate empire. During the Tang Dynasty, Shen Qi was good at writing five-character verses and was as famous as Song Zhiwen. The two jointly created the famous "Shen Song Style". In the Tang Dynasty, there were also calligrapher Shen Chuanshi, writer Shen Jiji, and poet Shen Qianyun. In the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a great scientist Shen Kuo. In the Ming Dynasty, there were the heroine Shen Yunying, the painter Shen Zhou, the writer Shen Defu, and the opera theorist Shen. In the Qing Dynasty, there were painter Shen Quan, poet Shen Deqian, and Governor-General of Liangjiang Shen Baozhen. In modern times, there are calligraphers and painters Shen Zengzhi, patriotic democrats Shen Junru, writers Shen Congwen, music theorists Shen Xingong, calligraphers Shen Yinmo, economists Shen Zhiyuan, etc.
1. Shen Kuo, a scientist in the Northern Song Dynasty
Shen Kuo (1031-1095 AD), a famous scientist and politician in the Northern Song Dynasty, was born in Qiantang, Hangzhou (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang). During the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song Dynasty, he passed the Jinshi examination.
In the early years of Xining, Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi became prime minister and began to reform. At that time, Shen Kuo was an active supporter of the new law. In 1073, Wang Anshi ordered him to go to the two Zhejiang areas to investigate the implementation of the new law. After he returned to Beijing, he praised the new law. A few years later, Wang Anshi resigned as prime minister. As soon as Shen Kuo saw that the limelight was not right, he secretly wrote a letter listing the shortcomings of Wang Anshi's new law. After Song Shenzong found out, he was very dissatisfied with him. Just when the imperial censor impeached him, Shenzong ordered him to be removed from the post of Hanlin bachelor and demoted to the magistrate of Xuanzhou.
In his later years, Shen Kuo married his wife Zhang. Zhang had a violent temper, and Shen Kuo was often scolded by her, which made her miserable. His eldest son Shen Boyi was kicked out of the house by Zhang because he was born to his ex-wife. Later Zhang died of illness, but Shen Kuo was in pain and died soon after.
The greatest achievement of Shen Kuo's life was that he wrote a glorious book - "Mengxi Bi Tan". The book has 26 volumes, covering many aspects, including astronomy, geography, etc. "Mengxi Bi Tan" was praised by the British historian of science and technology Joseph Needham as "the coordinate in the history of Chinese science and technology".
2. Shen Zhou, one of the "Four Ming Masters"
Shen Zhou (1427-1509 AD), a famous painter in the Ming Dynasty, was named Qinan, also known as Shitian, and in his later years, he was also known as Pulsatilla, Jiangsu A native of Changzhou (now Wuxian County, Jiangsu Province).
He never took the imperial examination in his life. He has been engaged in painting and poetry creation for a long time, especially Shen Zhou's paintings, which were rated first in the Ming Dynasty. Once, a county governor recruited painters to paint murals, and someone deliberately included Shen Zhou in the list of painters. Others advised him: "You have good relations with many high officials, you can find accommodation with them." But Shen Zhou said: "It is right for me to do hard labor. Wouldn't it be shameful to go to someone to intercede?" So he went. Service - Painting murals. Soon, the county magistrate came to Beijing to report on his work, and many people asked him for news about "Mr. Shen". The county guard hurriedly looked for an acquaintance, and after asking around, he found out that "Mr. Shen" was the painter who was serving.
Shen Zhou is famous for his landscape painting.
In his early years, he inherited his family education and learned from his father Shen Hengji, his uncle Shen Zhenji, Du Qiong and Liu Yu, and later Dong Yuan and Ju Ran. After the age of forty, he took Huang Gongwang as his sect, and his works were expanded to large formats. In his later years, Shen Zhou was particularly obsessed with Wuzhen, and his writing became more melancholy and vigorous, becoming more mature. His main works include "The Picture of a Boat Stopped in the Clouds", "The Picture of the Taoist Master in Mount Lu", "The Picture of Seeing Off Guests at Tiger Hill", "The Picture of Fang Zijiu's Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains", "The Picture of Farewell at Jingkou", "The Intention of Rain", "The Shade of Willows" Fishing Pictures" etc.