yán 严
百家姓 · Bai Jia Xing
Surname Origin
The origin of the surname "Yan": Yan is one of the relatively late - emerging surnames in China. It is a surname changed to avoid naming taboos. According to "Yuanhe Xingzuan" and "Tongzhi · Shizu Lue · Using Posthumous Titles as Surnames", the Yan family was originally the Zhuang family. During the Warring States period, King Lu of Chu had the posthumous title "Zhuang Wang", and some of his descendants took the surname Zhuang. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Ming of Han was Liu Zhuang. To avoid using the emperor's personal name, people with the surname Zhuang were ordered to change their surname to "Yan" (the characters "Zhuang" and "Yan" are synonymous). Zhuang Guang in the Western Han Dynasty later changed his name to Yan Guang. Around the time of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, there were some people who re - adopted the original surname "Zhuang", so there is a distinction between the Zhuang and Yan families.
Famous Story
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".
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