The surname Zeng
It is inherited from Yu the Great of the Xia Dynasty, and its founding ancestor was Zeng Wu (the Prince Wu). It is the 38th surname among the top 100 surnames in contemporary China. It is the 38th surname among the top 100 surnames in contemporary China. The contemporary population of people surnamed Zeng is approximately six million, accounting for about 0.5% of the total population of the country. The founding ancestors of the Zeng family, who immigrated from the Great Locust Tree in Hongtong during the Ming Dynasty, were from Pingyang and Taiyuan prefectures, as well as the five states of Ze, Lu, Liao, Fen and Qin, and the two counties of Hongtong and Zhaocheng. In the early Ming Dynasty, the Hongtong Great Locust Tree was relocated to other places in a concentrated manner. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, its descendants were distributed in Henan, Shandong, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Anhui, Jiangsu, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Shanxi and other places. 
The earliest record of the Zeng surname can be found in the "Yuanhe Xingzuan" of the Tang Dynasty.
The surname originated from the Si surname. According to the "Research on Surnames", "Shiben" and "Yuanhe Xingzu", it is said that during the reign of Emperor Shun in ancient times, the wife of Chongbo Gun, the grandson of Emperor 颛顼, dreamed of a shooting star falling to the ground and turning into the divine pearl Coix seed. After eating the coix seed, he became pregnant and gave birth to Yu the great. Therefore, Emperor Shun bestowed the surname Si upon yu. After the fifth-generation descendant of Yu the Xia, Shao Kang, restored the Xia Dynasty, he enfeoffed his youngest son, Qu Lie, in the territory of 鄫. The former site of 鄫 is located in the present-day cangshan county, shandong Province. The 鄫 state lasted for nearly two thousand years through the xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties. It was not until the Spring and Autumn period, in the sixth year of Duke Xiang of Lu (567 BC), that the ju state conquered the 鄫 state. Wu, the crown prince of the 鄫 state, who was heartbroken over the loss of his country, He fled to the nearby state of Lu and took up an official position. He removed the 阝 from the original state name 鄫, indicating that he had left the old city, and thus took zeng as his surname. The Zeng family is relatively pure and has long had no record of surnames from other families. The Zeng surname in present-day China all originated from Wu, the crown prince of the 鄫 state during the Spring and Autumn period, and was affiliated with Yu of the Xia Dynasty. It is truly a family of over four thousand years ago. The Zeng family strictly prohibits marriage involving people of the same surname.
The ancestral homes of the Zeng family mainly include Tianshui Prefecture, Lu Prefecture, Luling Prefecture, Luyang County, etc. Tianshui Commandery: Initially established in the third year of the Yuanding era of the Western Han Dynasty (114 BC). It is equivalent to the area east of Tianshui and Longxi in present-day Gansu Province. Its administrative center was Pingxiang (now northwest of Tongwei County, Gansu Province).
The Zeng family took Luyang, Sansheng and other places as their ancestral hall names. The Three Reflections Hall: Zeng Shen, a disciple of Confucius, paid great attention to the practice of self-cultivation. Every day, he would examine himself from several aspects: First, had he done his best in dealing with people and matters? Have you ever lost trust in your friends? Have you reviewed well what Teacher SAN taught?
The couplets for the Zeng surname include: "Nanfeng Wrote History (Zeng Gong);" The Western Mansion's Wedding (Zeng Gongliang). Wine and Meat nourish the spirit (Zeng Shen) Tong Guan Yong Ge (Zeng Dian). Dance 雩 yizhi (Zeng dian); Fen Dian Yan Tong (Zeng Chongfan). The Suppression of the feudal Domains in the Two Zhe regions (Zeng Zhiyao) The Third Platoon's detention (Zeng Gongliang). Wangju Lu Commandery; Originated from 鄫 country. The Daoist tradition continues the consistent transmission, with Confucius and Yan as teachers, and the successors directly start to think of Mencius. The article was renowned among the eight masters, followed in the line of Han Buliu, and at the same time, he also visited Ou Su (the couplet of the Zeng family Ancestral Hall). There are three aspects of self-cultivation: one should value oneself first. Loyalty and forgiveness are unique and come from the heart (Zengzi Shrine Couplet). Bathing in yi, dancing in the wind 雩, broad-mindedness (once pointed); Govern the country, pacify the world, and achieve academic success (Zeng Can). After being praised for his martial prowess, he was specially granted the third-rank official robes (Zeng Gongliang). The official seal of the text is on, and it ranks among the eight great masters (Zeng Gong). Unparalleled scholar within the sect. The first sage in the Holy religion (Couplet of the Zeng Family Ancestral Hall). Three thousand distinguished guests arrived one after another. A million in wealth rolls in. (Poems and couplets by Zeng Pu) Hai Ke's high-profile talk astounded everyone. Zonghua Fangxun reported three thousand (Poems and couplets by Zeng Pu). Passing on the Legacy of a century-old senior (Zeng Zhao) He diligently collected ten thousand volumes of books (Zeng Gong).
The 1999 edition of Cihai includes 30 examples of the Zeng family, 152 examples in the Great Dictionary of Chinese Personal Names, and 216 examples in the Great Dictionary of Chinese Personal Names Through the Ages. Among the historical figures of the Zeng surname, there were Zeng Shen, a disciple of Confucius, Zeng Gongliang and Zeng Bu, prime ministers of the Northern Song Dynasty, and Zeng Gong, a literary figure, who was one of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties. There was also Zeng Ji. The Ming Dynasty painter Zeng Jing; Zeng Guofan, a famous minister of the Qing Dynasty, was from Xiangxiang.
According to the statistics of the seventh national census, there are 17,419 people surnamed Zeng in Shanxi Province, 1,282 in Linfen City and 70 in Hongtong County.
The ancestral altar of the Zeng family is enshrined in the No. 5 Altar in the Ancestral Hall of the Great Locust Tree.
[Ancestral Home] ① Cangshan County, located in Linyi City, Shandong Province, was the 鄫 state during the Xia Dynasty and is also the birthplace of the Zeng surname. The Zeng Family Compound is located in Hongya County, Meishan City, Sichuan Province. Zeng Guofan's former residence is located in Shuangfeng County, Loudi City, Hunan Province. The Zeng Family Ancestral Hall is located in Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province. ⑤ Hongtong Great Locust Tree Ancestral Worship Garden is located at the site of the ancient Great locust tree in Hongtong County, Shanxi Province.