yú 鱼

Migration and Distribution (Not available) The Yu surname is not listed among the top 100 surnames in the mainland and Taiwan. The Yu surname is now rare, but perhaps many people know about Yu Xuanji, a famous female Taoist priest and poet in the Tang Dynasty. The Yu surname originated from the Zi surname, and its ancestor is Zi Yu, the younger brother of Duke Xiang of Song in the Spring and Autumn Period. Zi Yu was resourceful and often offered strategies to Duke Xiang of Song, but Duke Xiang was pedantic and conservative, often suffering defeats. In the Battle of Hongshui between Song and Chu, Zi Yu advised Duke Xiang to attack the enemy while the Chu army was crossing the river, but Duke Xiang didn't follow the advice. After the Chu army crossed the Hongshui River, Zi Yu again advised Duke Xiang to repel the enemy while the Chu army's formation was not in order and they were not firmly established, but Duke Xiang still didn't follow. Duke Xiang thought that fighting according to Zi Yu's suggestion would be too unkind to the enemy. As can be imagined, the Song army was finally defeated miserably. Duke Xiang thus became the laughingstock of the people, while Zi Yu's arguments on the war became famous in history. From then on, the descendants took his name as their surname, thus creating the Yu surname.