### Migration and Distribution Yi, the son of Duke Cheng of Jin, was enfeoffed in Yan. Later, Yan was annexed by the State of Jin. As a result, most of Yi's descendants scattered around Heluo (the area between the Yellow River and the Luo River). Combining with the previous statements, it can be confirmed that there are at least three birthplaces of the Yan surname, namely the present - day Henan, Shaanxi, and Shanxi provinces. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, there was a high - ranking official named Yan Ao in the State of Chu, indicating that the Yan surname had settled in Hubei at that time. During the Qin and Han dynasties, people with the Yan surname migrated to Gansu, Hunan, Shandong, Hebei and other places. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Yan Zhang, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, lived in Xingyang. Yan Xian, the eldest son of Yan Zhang's son Yan Chang, was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Changshe (now in Henan Province). Later, Yan Xian was involved in the replacement of the royal family and was executed. His son Yan Mu fled to Anhan in Baxi (now in Sichuan Province) to avoid disaster, which marked the beginning of the Yan surname's entry into Sichuan. Yan Mu's grandson, Yan Fu, was conferred the title of Marquis of Pingle by Emperor Wu of Wei and returned to live in Xin'an, Henan. Yan Pu, Yan Fu's son, served as the governor of Xiangjun (now in parts of Guangxi and Guizhou) after the unification of the Western Jin Dynasty and settled there. Yan Zan, Yan Pu's son, served as the governor of Hanzhong and settled in Hanzhong, Shaanxi. Yan Zan's son, Yan Heng, was the governor of Liaoxi. Yan Heng's son, Yan Ding, moved to the area of present - day Beijing due to his official career and later died in a disaster caused by Liu Cong. Yan Chang, Yan Ding's son, fled to Mayi (now Shuozhou, Shanxi). Later, a branch of Yan Man, Yan Chang's grandson, moved to Henan, from which other branches such as those in Tianshui and Dunhuang in Gansu originated. Yan Shan, the grandson of Yan Man, moved to Shengle in Yunzhou (now the ancient city site northwest of Helingeer County, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region) because he served as the general of Yunzhong Town. Later, during the period of the "Five Barbarians Intrusion", the Yan surname was forced to migrate southward on a large scale. After the Sui and Tang dynasties, the distribution of the Yan surname in the south of the Yangtze River became more extensive. During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the Yan surname developed into a prominent clan in Taiyuan. During the Song and Yuan dynasties, with the invasion of ethnic minorities from the north, the Yan surname, which was originally scattered in the south of the Yangtze River, further spread to Central China, South China, and Southwest China. In the Ming Dynasty, as one of the surnames of the migrants from Hongdong Big Sophora Tree, the Yan surname in Taiyuan also had people move to Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi, Beijing, Tianjin and other places. By then, the Yan surname had been distributed all over the country, and some people with the Yan surname migrated overseas. Today, the Yan surname is widely distributed. It is particularly common in Henan, Shandong, and Hebei provinces. The Yan people in these three provinces account for about 57% of the Han people with the Yan surname in the whole country. The Yan surname ranks 50th among the surnames in modern China. The population of the Yan surname is relatively large, accounting for about 0.4% of the Han population in the whole country.

Yan Hui (521 BC - 490 BC) Zi Ziyuan, a native of Lu in the Spring and Autumn Period, was a disciple of Confucius. He was naturally intelligent, poor but eager to learn, and was the most virtuous among Confucius' disciples. Confucius praised him for not venting his anger on others and not repeating the same mistakes. Later generations honored him as the "Re - sage" and listed him in the category of virtue among Confucius' disciples. He is also known as Yan Ziyuan and Yan Yuan. Yan Zhenqing (709 - 785 AD) Zi Qingchen, a native of Linyi in the Tang Dynasty, successively held the positions of Supervisory Censor and Taiyuan Prefect. During the An Lushan Rebellion, Zhenqing and his cousin Yan Gaoping jointly raised an army. He was granted the title of Duke of Lu. Later, when Li Xilie captured Ruzhou, he was ordered to go and persuade Li Xilie, but he remained unyielding and was ultimately killed.

Yan Song (1481–1568), styled Weizhong and known by the sobriquet Jiexi, was a native of Fenyi, Jiangxi during the Ming Dynasty. He served as the prime minister during the reign of Emperor Shizong. He monopolized power, accepted bribes, and persecuted those who opposed him. Later, he was impeached and removed from office. As his son, Yan Shifan, remained unrestrained, their property was confiscated, and he ended up living in a tomb shed and died there. Yan Song was good at calligraphy and proficient in poetry and prose, and he authored "Collected Works of Qianshan Hall".

Migration and Distribution (Information missing) The Yan surname is not ranked among the top 100 surnames in the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. The Yan surname originated from the Jiang surname. In ancient times, Huangdi was a well - known clan and tribe leader, and his clan worshiped the dragon totem. Huangdi had a grandson named Zhuanxu, who was also a famous clan and tribe leader. Zhuanxu had a great - grandson named Yan'an, and Yan'an is the ancestor of the Yan surname. During the Spring and Autumn Period, a high - ranking official in the Qi State was enfeoffed in Yan (present - day Yancheng, northwest of Qihe County, Shandong Province). His descendants took the name of the fief as their surname and were called the Yan clan. Passed down from generation to generation, the current Yan surname was formed. The prominent families of the Yan surname resided in the Qi Commandery, which is present - day Linzi area in Shandong Province. The Yan surname is a relatively rare surname today, but it is widely distributed. It accounts for about 0.027% of the Han population in the whole country and ranks 241st. There are particularly many people with this surname in Hubei, Sichuan, and Jiangxi provinces. The Yan surname population in these three provinces accounts for 82% of the Han Yan surname population in the country.

### Migration and Distribution (Details are missing) The Yan surname is not among the top 100 surnames in the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. The Yan surname originated from the Ji surname. After King Wu of Zhou, Ji Fa, defeated King Zhou of Shang and established the Zhou Dynasty, he enfeoffed various nobles as princes. Among them, a noble named Ji Shi was enfeoffed in the Yan region (covering the northern part of present - day Hebei Province and the western part of present - day Liaoning Province) and became the king. Towards the end of the Warring States period, the State of Yan was conquered by the State of Qin. Subsequently, Ji Shi's descendants adopted the name of the state as their surname, forming one branch of the Yan surname. Another branch of the Yan surname can be traced back to the Shang Dynasty. At that time, a noble named Bo Shu was enfeoffed in the Yan region (around present - day Yanjin County, Henan Province) and established the State of Yan. Bo Shu's descendants also took Yan as their surname, which is another origin of the modern - day Yan surname. In ancient times, most of the prominent Yan families came from Shanggu. It should be noted that there were actually two States of Yan during the Zhou Dynasty. The one descended from Duke Shao is historically known as the Northern Yan. There was also a Southern Yan, located west of present - day Ji County, Henan Province, which was a fief of a descendant of Huangdi. The Southern and Northern Yan States in the pre - Qin period were two distinct states. One was passed down through the descendants of Duke Shao Shi, the son of King Wen of Zhou, while the other was passed down from Huangdi Xuanyuan. However, when traced back to their roots, they were both descendants of the Ji surname of Huangdi. Nevertheless, the Southern Yan did not exist as long as the Northern Yan. According to the "Tongzhi · Shizu Lue", the descendants of Duke Shao Shi took the state name as their surname, and so did the descendants of Huangdi after the state's demise. The prominent families of the Yan surname were based in Fanyang Commandery, which is around present - day Ji County, Hebei Province. Once the people with the Yan surname stepped onto the historical stage, they made remarkable achievements. In the Spring and Autumn period, there was a disciple of Confucius named Yan Ji, who was posthumously granted the title of Lord Yuyang. In the Han Dynasty, there was Yan Cang, a meritorious official who first discovered the conspiracy of Shangguan Jie and was later enfeoffed as the Marquis of Xuancheng. During the Later Han Dynasty, due to a major migration, the Yan surname spread southward. This ancient surname, which originated from Hebei and Henan, gradually became prominent in southern China. For example, Yan Wengui, a painter in the Northern Song Dynasty, was from Wuxing (now part of Jiangsu Province). Other well - known figures with the Yan surname include Yan Feng, a general of the Zhenyuan Army in the Northern Wei Dynasty; Yan Chong, the governor of Henei; Yan Song, a great general in the Sui Dynasty; Yan Da, the military governor of Wuxin Army in the Song Dynasty; Yan Wengui, a painter; and Yan Su, an inventor in metrology.