The traditional Chinese character for "李" is still written as "李".
Li (lǐ) generally refers to the surname. Statistics show that the population with the Li surname accounts for approximately 7.9% of the country's Han population.
The origin of the surname Li can be roughly divided into the following categories:
1. Originated from the surname Ying.
Some people believe that the Li family originated from the surname Ying, and that the ancestor of the Li family was Gaotao, the leader of the Dongyi tribe. Gaotao was once appointed as Shun's Dali, so he was named Li, which later gradually evolved into Li.
2. It originated from the worship of plum tree totem.
Li was given the surname Li because he was an official in Dali. Later, he took refuge in Nanmuzi to feed himself during the Li campaign and was given the surname Li. Because he ate wild plums, Li cultivated it into a domestic plum tree. Later, the plum tree was regarded as a sacred tree, that is, a totem tree. Therefore, the descendants of the Li family often plant plum trees outside their houses to pray for peace.
3. Originated from the surname Ji.
During the Shang Dynasty, there were descendants of Zhou with the same surname, named Ba people, who lived in Zhongli Mountain. After King Wu of Zhou destroyed the Shang Dynasty, he granted the Ba people the title of Bazi Kingdom. In 306 AD, the Ba people established the Dacheng Kingdom in Sichuan, known as Chenghan in history. This was the first dynasty established by the Li surname in China.
4. It originated from the granting of surnames and the restoration of the Li family name.
During the Shu Han Dynasty, after Zhuge Liang imprisoned the barbarians, he gave the local ethnic minorities Zhao, Zhang, Yang, Li and other surnames;
In the Northern Wei Dynasty, after Xiaowen moved the capital to Luoyang, he implemented a cultural comprehensive Due to the Sinicization policy, the Xianbei people had a compound surname and the Li family was named Li family. The Xianbei Tuoba clan of the Northern Wei royal family was actually a descendant of Han general Li Ling.