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The Chang surname
2021-06-01
The ancestral founder was Chang Hong. During the Ming dynasty, the Chang clan—originating from areas such as Pingyang Prefecture, Hongtong County, and Zhaocheng County—was among those who, at the beginning of the dynasty, were ordered to gather at the Great Locust Tree in Hongtong and relocate to other regions. By the late Qing period, their descendants had spread across Henan, Shandong, Hebei, Shaanxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, Shanxi, and other locales. The earliest recorded mention of the Chang surname appears in the Eastern Han work “Qianfu Lun.”
[Origins of the Surname] There are two main sources of this surname: ① It derives from the descendants of Chang Hong. According to the “Tongzhi: Shi Zu Lüe,” some descendants of Chang Hong, a high official during the Zhou dynasty, adopted the character “Chang” from their ancestor’s name as their surname. ② It originates from the surnames of ancient minority ethnic groups. As recorded in the “Zhang Chan Inscription Stele,” among the Yi chieftains of Shu there was a family bearing the surname “Chang.”
[Clan Origins] The principal ancestral commanderies of the Chang clan are Weijun and Dongpingjun. Weijun: Established in the twelfth year of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty (195 BCE), it encompassed the region roughly corresponding to present-day Weixian County in Hebei Province, Xun County in Henan Province, and Guan County in Shandong Province. Its administrative center was located at Ye County (now southwest of Linzhang County in Hebei Province).
[Hall Couplets] The principal hall couplets of the Chang surname are: “Golden ink easily yields to the brush” (Chang Feng); “A pool of green blood buries grievances” (Chang Hong).
[Notable Figures] The “Great Dictionary of Personal Names in Chinese History” records four instances of the surname Chang. Among the historical figures bearing this surname are: during the Eastern Zhou period, there was the high official Chang Hong; in the Han dynasty, there was Chang Dihang; during the Three Kingdoms era, there was Chang Nu, a general under Yuan Shu; in the Tang dynasty, there was Chang Zong, who served as the magistrate of Fengtian during the Dali reign, and also Chang Feng, a master craftsman of writing brushes; in the Later Tang period, there was Chang Congjian, a native of Chenzhou and military governor of Heyang’s Three Cities; and in the Qing dynasty, there was Chang Shizhou, who passed the imperial examination during the Qianlong era.
[Population] According to the Fourth National Population Census, there are 32 people surnamed Chang in Shanxi Province, including 2 in Linfen City.
[Altar Cabinet] The ancestral tablets of the Chang clan are enshrined in Altar Cabinet No. 3 of the Ancestral Hall beneath the Great Locust Tree.
Keywords:
Hongtong Great Locust Tree
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