bié 别

### Migration and Distribution The Bie surname is not among the top 100 surnames in the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. According to the ancient book *Research on Surnames*, there was a person named Bie Chengzi in ancient times, which is the earliest record of the Bie surname. The descendants of Bie Chengzi took Bie as their surname and passed it down from generation to generation, thus forming today's Bie surname. The Bie surname in Hubei should be the earliest branch that migrated out of Jingzhao. This migration should have occurred before the Southern Song Dynasty. According to the *Genealogy of the Bie Clan in Mianyang*, "The original ancestor is Bie Zhijie, who was originally from the major clan in Yingzhou. He was awarded the title of Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the second year of the Jiading period, served as the Deputy Chief Councilor of Henan, and was posthumously awarded the title of Junior Mentor after his death." This passage confirms that Bie Zhijie is the original ancestor of the Bie surname in Mianyang. However, there was also another famous person in the Song Dynasty named Bie Tong, who was Bie Zhijie's father. Therefore, whether Bie Zhijie is the ancestor of the Bie surname in Hubei who migrated into the province remains to be verified. There should be at least two branches of the Bie surname in Hubei: - One branch originated from Yingzhou, that is, the clan of Bie Zhijie. This branch of the Bie surname should be distributed in today's Jingmen, Zhongxiang, Yicheng, Yichang, Shashi, Zaoyang and other places. The origin, development and distribution of this branch of the Bie surname need to be further investigated. - The other branch was founded by Bie Miaozu, a descendant of Bie Zhijie, who migrated to Mianyang in the early Ming Dynasty. It is a branch of the Bie surname from Yingzhou. This branch has formed its own system - with a separate genealogy, a different generation - naming system, and an independent ancestral hall. It is known as the Bie surname in Mianyang and is mainly concentrated in Xiantao (formerly Mianyang), Tianmen, Qianjiang, Honghu, Hanchuan, Wuhan and other places. Among them, Xiantao City has the largest number of people with the Bie surname. According to the genealogy revision in 1992, there were about 3500 people. Xiantao City was formerly known as Mianyang, named after the Mian River (now known as the Han River or Xiang River). It has been the seat of prefectures and governments throughout history. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Chen Youliang, a leader of the Red Turban Army from Mianyang, proclaimed himself the emperor of the Great Han. He was shot and killed during a battle with Zhu Yuanzhang in Poyang Lake. Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, massacred the people in Mianyang and carried out a large - scale immigration. The ancestor of the Bie clan in Mianyang, Gong Miaozu, migrated to Mianyang at this time (the second year of the Hongwu period) and settled in Maozui Pearl Pagoda Temple on the southern side of the Shunhe River, a tributary of the Mian River in the western part of Mianyang (i.e., Liusi River in the southern countryside of the ancient Jingling). It has been more than six hundred years since then.