Yin (y ǐ n) surname

It belongs to the Jin Tian family of Shaohao, with its ancestor being Yin Yin. It is the 91st surname among the top 100 contemporary surnames in China. The contemporary population with the surname Yin is about 2.3 million, accounting for approximately 0.19% of the total population in China. The ancestors of the Yin family, who migrated from Hongdong and Dahuaishu during the Ming Dynasty, were from Pingyang and Taiyuan prefectures, Ze, Lu, Liao, Fen, and Qin provinces, as well as Hongdong and Zhaocheng counties. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, it was ordered to relocate the large locust trees in Hongdong to other places. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, their descendants were distributed in Henan, Shandong, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Anhui, Jiangsu, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Shanxi and other places. 

The earliest record of the surname Yin can be found in the Eastern Han Dynasty's "Qian Fu Lun".

There are two main sources of surnames: ① Originating from Shaohao and taking the name of the town as the surname. According to the "Genealogy: Genealogy" and "Source of Surnames" records, it is said that the ancient emperor Shaohao was the leader of the Dongyi tribe in ancient times. Shaohao was known as Shaohao, with the name Zhi and the given name Jin Tian Shi. The Dongyi tribe takes birds as their totems, and they once used bird names as their official names. They had workers and farmers to manage industry and agriculture. Yin, the son of Shaohao Jintian, was a Gongzheng who mainly made bows and arrows. He was enfeoffed in Yincheng, which was located in the northwest of present-day Yiyang County, Henan Province, or some say in Xixian County, Shanxi Province. Known as Yin Yin in the world. His descendants have served as officials of the Zhou Dynasty for generations, and their fiefdom has always been in Yincheng. The descendants of Yin used the fiefdom name Yin as their surname. It is the Yin surname of Henan and Shanxi.

② Derived from taking official positions as surnames. According to the "General Principles of Customs", Yin was an official name during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, holding the position of prime minister. During the Shang Tang dynasty, Yi Zhi was appointed as Yin, and during the Zhou Xuan dynasty, Xi Bojifu was appointed as Yin. Some of their descendants took Yin as their surname. In addition, there was also the Yin family among the various states of the Zhou Dynasty. Zheng had Yin He, Jin had Yin Duo, and Qin had Yin Xi. In the southern state of Chu, many of its officials were also called Yin. It can be seen that the distribution of the Yin surname was already very widespread during the Spring and Autumn period.

The county lords of the Yin surname mainly include Tianshui Commandery and Hejian Commandery. Tianshui Commandery: First established in the third year of Yuanding in the Western Han Dynasty (114 BC). Equivalent to the areas east of Tianshui and Longxi in Gansu Province. The capital was located in Pingxiang (now northwest of Tongwei County, Gansu Province).

The Yin family used names such as Tianshui and Hejing as their hall names. Hejing Hall: During the Song Dynasty, Yin Wu was a student of Cheng Yi and was not eligible for the imperial examination for life. He was given the title of "Hejing Jushi". The Jin army captured Luoyang, and the entire family of Wu was killed, leaving only Wu with one person to flee to Sichuan. He was appointed as the Minister of Rites and soon after, as the Assistant Minister of Rites.

The hall couplets of the Yin surname include: Zhongxing Liangfu (Yin Jifu); Famous minister of the East China Sea (Yin Wenggui). Hejing Chengji (Yin Yan); Guanling Shoujing (Yin Xi). Yiluo Yuan Yuan (Yin Wu); Lin Jing continued to narrate (Yin Qixin). Hejing Chushi (Yin Yan); South out of Yangzhong (Yin Min). Southern domain knowledge began with Zhen (Yin Zhen); To resist the enemy in the north, Wei Lunwei (Yin Jilun). Lu Zhuan (Yin Zhu), a master of the Spring and Autumn period of the Five Dynasties; Ten Tang Dynasty Talks on Zi Jiantan (Yin Yuan). Longtu Ge Shi Chunqiu Fu (Yin Zhu); Mr. Hanoi Tang Shuo Pian (Yin Yuan). Jinyang vassal, despising the cocoon silk to enter politics (Yin Duo); Officials at Hangu Pass recognize the auspiciousness of purple qi (Yin Xi). Excellent in both civil and martial arts, with ten thousand states as the constitution (Yin Jifu); Enwei and Ji, the overall authority of the Sixth Division (Yin Zhi). Northern Study Tour to China; Breaking through the Great Wilderness in Southern Heaven (Yin Zhen Temple couplet).