gōu 勾

Migration and Distribution (No information) The Gou (Gōu) surname, which is also written as 句 and has the same pronunciation as the ancient character 勾, is not among the top 100 surnames in the Mainland and Taiwan. The Gou surname originated from the 勾 surname and has been used interchangeably throughout history. According to legend, Emperor Shaohao had a son named Zhong. After his death, Zhong was enshrined as the God of the East, in charge of the growth, development, and life and death of all things in heaven and earth. He was known as the official in charge of 勾芒 (another theory suggests that he was only in charge of the management of trees). His descendants took pride in this and adopted the 勾 surname. According to historical records, there were people with the 勾 surname in some of the countries of the Qunmin. During the Southern Song Dynasty, to avoid using the same character as Emperor Gaozong Zhao Gou's name, some people with the 勾 surname changed it to 句, but the pronunciation remained the same; some changed it to 苟; and others changed it to 钩. The prominent families of the 句 surname were mainly located in Pingyang County (in the southwestern part of present-day Linfen County, Shanxi Province).