The surname Wu is an ancient surname with multiple ethnic groups and origins. It ranked eighth on the list of surnames in mainland China in 2015, accounting for 2.05% of the Han population in China, about 27.8 million people. Ranked sixth in the Song Dynasty version of "Hundred Family Surnames".
Origin of Wu surname:
1, derived from the surname Jiang of Emperor Yan. Long before the Yellow Emperor, there was a tribe belonging to the surname Jiang. This tribe had Zoyu as its totem. Zoyu is a benevolent beast in ancient mythology. It is said that it has the body of a tiger and the head of a lion, with white fur and black stripes, and a long tail. It is kind by nature and will not even trample on grass. It only eats animals that have died naturally. "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" says: "It is as big as a tiger, with a colorful body, and a tail longer than the body. It is called Zouyu, and it can travel thousands of miles in a day."
In ancient times, Yu and Wu had the same pronunciation, but later they became homophones, and the characters were similar in shape and could be used interchangeably. It was not until the Warring States Period that Yu and Wu began to differentiate. So this tribe interpreted the totem as Wu and took Wu as the name of the tribe. The Wu tribe is brave and good at hunting. Its leader is Wu Quan, a minister of Emperor Yan. It should be noted that Emperor Yan is a title or position, held by different people from generation to generation. The person who held the position of Emperor Yan at the same time as Emperor Huang was the last Emperor Yan.
The Wu tribe was active in Jiangshui (east of Longshan County, Longxian County, Shaanxi Province), and the place where they lived was called Wushan. Among the descendants of Wu Quan, there was a woman named Wu Shu who married Shaodian of the Youxiong tribe and gave birth to a son, who became the Yellow Emperor. During the Xia Dynasty, the Wu tribe migrated to Guanjin (now east of Wuyi, Hebei Province). During the reign of King Shaokang of Xia, there was a man named Wu He from the Wu tribe who was famous for his good archery. He once competed with Hou Yi, the great archer at that time. This person from the Wu tribe with the surname Jiang later took Wu as his surname, which has a history of more than 5,000 years.
2, originated from the Wuhui clan of Zhu Rong clan. Zhuanxu's grandson Laotong had two sons: Chongli and Wu Hui. The Wu Hui clan lives in the hometown of the Wu tribe surnamed Jiang. It was in the era of Shun, and Shun gave Chongli the glorious mission of being in charge of fire. At that time, people called the leader in charge of fire the Zhu Rong clan. The Zhu Rong clan had a high status among the major clans and had great power.
Later, Chong Li was killed by Shun for his crime, and Wu Hui was allowed to succeed Zhu Rong. During the Xia Dynasty, Wu Hui's clan moved to Wushan in Pinglu, Shanxi. During the Shang Dynasty, this clan moved to Linqu, Shandong, and was known as Wang Wu in history. At the end of the Shang Dynasty, there was a man named Uncle Wu, a descendant of the Wu Hui clan. After all, the Wu surname has a history of more than 4,000 years.
3, from the surname Yao. Shun was the leader of a tribe of the Dongyi tribe located in a remote area. After taking over Yao's position, he moved the tribe to the land of ancient Wu (today's Lishan next to Wushan in Pinglu, Shaanxi), and was known as the Yu clan in history. After Yu's son Qi established the Xia Dynasty, he granted Shun's son Shangjun a place in Yu (now Yucheng, Henan) and became the Fang Kingdom and the Yu Kingdom.
Yu Si of Yu State married his two daughters to Shaokang and helped Shaokang revive the Xia Dynasty. After the establishment of the Shang Dynasty, the Yu State declined and perished, and the survivors of the Yu State took Wu as their surname. Wu Guang, one of the leaders of the peasant uprising in the late Qin Dynasty, is a descendant of Yao and Wu. This Wu surname has a history of more than 3,500 years.
4. Comes from the surname Huangdi Ji. The Wu surname of this origin is the most famous in history, has the most profound influence on later generations, and has the most prosperous population. It is the origin of the Wu surname recognized by most people with the Wu surname.
At the end of the Shang Dynasty, Gu Gong Danfu, a descendant of the Yellow Emperor, led the tribe to settle in Zhouyuan (now Qishan, Shaanxi) at the foot of Qishan Mountain. He had three sons: Taibo (also known as Taibo), Zhongyong and Ji Li. Ji Li's son Ji Chang (later King Wen of Zhou) was very talented. Gu Gong wanted Ji Li to be his successor, so that he could Pass it on to Chang.
In order to give up the throne, Taibo and Zhong Yong took their families to the Wuyue area in the south and established the Kingdom of Wu. In the late Spring and Autumn Period, the State of Wu rose and was later destroyed by the State of Yue. The survivors of the State of Wu took Guo as their surname. This Wu surname has a history of more than 2,600 years. 5. Change surnames from ethnic minorities. During the Qing Dynasty, many Manchu clans collectively changed their surname to Wu, and a large number of Miao people also changed their surname to Wu.