yàn 燕

### 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.