zēng 曾

Migration and Distribution The Zeng surname initially originated in the area northwest of present-day Cangshan County, Shandong Province. During the Pre-Qin period, the descendants of the Zeng family who fled to the State of Lu served as officials there, settled down, and propagated. Meanwhile, they spread to the surrounding areas, making the Zeng clan spread across Shandong, Hebei and other places. During the Qin and Han dynasties, the Zeng people were renowned for their virtue of "filial piety" and were honored as the "Sage of Filial Piety" by the feudal rulers, which made them famous and prosperous. Zeng Le, the great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson of Zeng Yuan, the eldest son of Zeng Shen, was the Marquis of Duxiang in Shanyin County during the Western Han Dynasty. Zeng Le's son, Zeng Huan, had two sons, Zeng Zhan and Zeng Guang. The great-great-great-grandson of Zeng Guang, Zeng Xu, made his family prominent in Fufeng (southeast of present-day Xingping, Shaanxi Province), which was known as the Fufeng Branch. His two sons, Zeng Yu and Zeng Chang, moved to Jizhou (governed in present-day Jixian County, Hebei Province) and Qingzhou (governed in the northeast of present-day Zibo City, Shandong Province) respectively. Zeng Ju, the grandson of Zeng Bao, fled from the chaos caused by Wang Mang at the end of the Western Han Dynasty. He led more than a thousand members of his clan to move south from Shandong to Jiyang Township in Luling County (governed in the southwest of present-day Ji'an City, Jiangxi Province), which was known as the Jiyang Branch. Zeng Ju had two sons, Zeng Chan and Zeng Yi. Zeng Cheng, the great-great-great-great-grandson of Zeng Chan, had three sons, Zeng Gui, Zeng Jiu and Zeng Lue. Zeng Lue lived in Nanfeng, Fuzhou (east of present-day Guangchang County, Jiangxi Province), which was known as the Fuzhou Branch. Zeng Zhenhu, the great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson of Zeng Chan, fled to Shaoguan Prefecture (governed in the south of present-day Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province) due to the chaos, which was known as the Shaoguan Branch. Zeng Yong, the son of Zeng Gui, moved to Qianzhou (present-day Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province), and his great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson, Zeng Tong, moved to Jiaozhou (present-day Guangzhou, Guangdong Province). By the end of the Han Dynasty, due to reasons such as official appointments or wars, the Zeng clan had migrated continuously and entered Shandong, Hebei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Jiangxi, Guangdong and other provinces. With a large population and a prosperous family, they formed several major commandery seats. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, there were continuous wars and the society was always in turmoil. Coupled with the "Yongjia Rebellion" at the end of the Western Jin Dynasty, the gentry in the Central Plains migrated south in large numbers. Therefore, the Zeng clan also moved into many southern provinces during this period. One branch moved to Kuaiji (present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province), and several other branches moved to Shujun (governed in present-day Chengdu, Sichuan Province), Yuzhang (present-day Nanchang, Jiangxi Province), Wujun (governed in present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu Province), Henei (present-day Qinyang, Henan Province), Nanyang (present-day Nanyang, Henan Province), Jiangxia (present-day Echeng, Hubei Province), Xiangyang (present-day Xiangyang, Hubei Province) and other places. Before the Tang Dynasty, the Zeng clan had spread across the country, with many famous people emerging and the family's influence gradually growing. It gradually became one of the well - known large surnames in China. During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the society was stable, the speed of clan development accelerated, and expansion and migration were also in vogue. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, some members of the Zeng clan moved to Fujian. By the end of the Song Dynasty, due to wars and foreign invasions, the Zeng clan migrated several times. During the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, the Zeng clan had spread all over the country, and some had even migrated to Taiwan and overseas. Today, the Zeng surname has a large population in China, especially in Sichuan, Hunan, Guangdong and Jiangxi. The Zeng population in these four provinces accounts for about 66% of the Han Zeng population in the country. The Zeng surname ranks 38th among Chinese surnames and 16th in Taiwan. It has a large population, accounting for about 0.49% of the Han population in the country.