kàn 阚

Migration and Distribution The Kan surname is not ranked among the top 100 surnames in both the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. In the Spring and Autumn Period of ancient times, there was a high - ranking official in the State of Qi named "Zhi", who was granted the right to enjoy the products of the land of Kan. So people called him Kan Zhi. His descendants took the fief as their surname and passed it down from generation to generation. The land of Kan is now around Wenshang County, Shandong Province. Tracing back, the ancestors of the Kan family can be linked to Duke Jiang Taigong, namely Jiang Shang, who assisted King Wen and King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty. Jiang Shang was also the founder of the State of Qi. Therefore, the Kan surname originated from the Jiang surname. The ancestral progenitor of the Jiang surname is Emperor Shennong. Emperor Shennong was born by the Jiangshui River southwest of Qishan in Shaanxi Province and took Jiang as his surname. The people of Kan Village are descendants of Emperor Shennong. According to the record in "Shang You Lu", during the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a doctor in the State of Qi named Zhi, who was enfeoffed in the land of Kan (now in the territory of Wenshang County, Shandong Province). People called him Kan Zhi, and his descendants took the fief as their surname and passed it down through generations. One branch of them migrated south along the Beijing - Hangzhou Grand Canal to Xuyi, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Taiwan. Another small branch traced back westward along the Huaihe River from Xuyi and scattered on both sides of the Huaihe River. One branch was stationed in Nankou Town, Beijing at the end of the Ming Dynasty with the army. Due to their meritorious deeds in battles, the imperial court issued an order that 45 Chinese juniper trees could be planted in the family cemetery. Now, most of their descendants live in Beihuyu Village, Nankou Town, Changping District, about 200 people in total. One branch moved north to Beijing around the Republic of China era and now scatters in Tongzhou District, Beijing. Most of them live in Lixinzhuang Village, Hugelzhuang Township, Tongzhou District, about 150 people, and some of them have moved out later. Most of the descendants of Kan Zhi now live in Shandong Province, mainly in Wennan, Fangcheng and Tumen in Xintai; Zhaizi, Zhangbaqiu and Lu's Family in Laiwu, as well as in Tai'an, Heze, Boshan, Gaomi, Linyi, Yiyuan, Yishui and Pingyin. Some people moved to the Northeast and Shanxi around the founding of the People's Republic of China. According to the record in "Xing Shi Kao Lue", the pronunciation is "kan". It was a city in the State of Qi. It was the place where Duke Zhao of Lu captured Kan in Qianhou. The doctors of the State of Qi who were granted to collect taxes there took it as their surname. The prominent lineages are from Tianshui and Kuaiji.