Hou Hongshi A person from the Tang Dynasty. When he was a teenager, he once dreamed that he turned into a rainbow and drank water from the river. A monk looked at his face and said, "This is a rainbow dragon." When he grew up, he reached the position of Jiedushi (military governor). Hou Ba A person from Julu in the Western Han Dynasty. He was a disciple of the famous litterateur and philosopher Yang Xiong, and studied "Tai Xuan" and "Fa Yan". These two books were written by Yang Xiong imitating "The Book of Changes" and "The Analects of Confucius". Hou Daohua A person from Ruicheng in the Tang Dynasty. He liked to read philosophical works and classics and history, and never put down the books in his hands. He once stayed in a Taoist temple for self - cultivation. It is said that one day, after getting drunk and coming back from the market, he vigorously chopped the pine branches in front of the courtyard and said, "Don't prevent me from flying to a high place." Seven days later, clouds and cranes appeared on the pine tree, and the sound of sheng (a wind instrument) and songs was heard. Hou Daohua flew and sat on the top of the pine tree, waved his hand and became an immortal. Hou Jitu A person from Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period. He once visited the Daci Temple and picked up a tung leaf with seven couplets of poetry written on it, and hid it. Later, he married a woman named Ren, and only then did he know that the poem was written by his wife. Hou Fangyu (1618 - 1654 AD) With the courtesy name Chaozong, he was from Shangqiu, Henan during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. He was good at writing classical Chinese and poetry, and imitated Han Yu and Ouyang Xiu. He was jointly known as the Four Sons with Fang Yizhi, Mao Xiang and Chen Zhenhui. Hou Fangyu once fell in love with the famous courtesan Li Xiangjun. The powerful official Tian Yang was infatuated with Xiangjun's beauty and art, and wanted to forcibly marry her. Xiangjun refused to submit until death, and her blood splashed on the fan. At that time, Yang Wencong painted a peach blossom with the bloodstains. Kong Shangren wrote the legend "The Peach Blossom Fan" based on this story.

### Migration and Distribution (Information missing) The Hou (后) surname is not listed among the top 100 surnames in the Hundred Family Surnames in both the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. In ancient times, the well - known leader of the Dongyi tribe was also called Taihao. Taihao had a grandson named Houzhao, and Houzhao's descendants formed the Hou (後) surname, which is now simplified to Hou (后). However, in the Hundred Family Surnames, Hou (後) and Hou (后) are two different surnames with different origins. The origin of the Hou (后) surname can be traced back to Gonggong, a leader of an ancient tribe. Gonggong's son was Julong, who held the position of Houtu, in charge of land cultivation. Julong's descendants took the character "Hou" from the title "Houtu" as their surname. Nowadays, people with the Hou (後) surname often simplify it to Hou (后). Anyway, both surnames have a glorious and long - standing origin. In the early history of China, most of the famous people with the Hou (后) surname were from Shandong. In the Spring and Autumn Period, Hou Chu, a disciple of Confucius, was from the State of Qi. Hou Cang, who spread the learning of the Book of Songs and the Book of Rites in the Han Dynasty and had a profound influence on traditional Chinese culture, was from Tancheng, Shandong. Like many other surnames, the Hou (后) surname has not developed into a prosperous family. However, through generations of migration and reproduction, its descendants have spread all over the world. For example, Hou Neng, a famous general who guarded Minzhou for more than 20 years during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty, was from Minzhou at that time, which is now Min County, Gansu. Currently, there are people with the Hou (后) surname in Yilong County, Sichuan Province; Guyuan County, Gansu Province; Ningxiang County, Hunan Province; Xuancheng County, Anhui Province, etc. In written language use, the characters "Hou (后)" and "Hou (後)" can be interchanged in many cases. Therefore, the boundary between the "Hou (后)" and "Hou (後)" surnames is becoming increasingly blurred. Some people with the "Hou (后)" surname today may have got it from an incorrect transmission of the "Hou (後)" surname. In modern times, the character "Hou (後)" is mostly simplified to "Hou (后)". Although the Hou (後) and Hou (后) surnames have different origins in the historical development of the Hundred Family Surnames, they are all simplified to Hou (后) today and are no longer distinguished.