zhān 詹

### Migration and Distribution The origin of the Zhan surname is long - standing and rather complex. According to *Ci Yuan* (Dictionary of Chinese Classics), "During the Zhou Dynasty, there were Zhan Fu and Zhan Hengbo, who were said to be descendants of a collateral son of King Xuan of Zhou." It also records that "During the Jin Dynasty, there was Zhan Jia; in Guo, there was Zhan Fu; and in Zheng, there was Zhan Bo." The Zhans in Jin and Zheng were different from the descendants of the son of King Xuan. This shows that during the Spring and Autumn Period, the Zhan surname was already distributed in Jin (around present - day Shanxi Province), Guo (northwest of present - day Zhengzhou, Henan Province), Zheng (around present - day Xinzheng, Henan Province) and other places. During the Warring States Period, there was a warlock named Zhan He in Chu (around present - day Hubei Province). In the Western Han Dynasty, there was the son of the Xiongnu Chanyu, Zhan Shilu (for reference only). In the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a barbarian named Zhan Shan in Wuling (governed in the south of present - day Xupu, Hubei Province). This indicates that before and during the Han Dynasty, some people with the Zhan surname had settled in present - day Hubei and Hunan. Of course, historical records show that during the Han Dynasty, most of the Zhans multiplied in the ancient Bohai and Hejian Prefectures. The Yongjia Disturbance in the Jin Dynasty led to an unprecedented catastrophe. The era of the Sixteen Kingdoms of the Five Barbarians began, and the Han people in the Central Plains started to migrate southward. This was the famous first ethnic migration in Chinese history. At that time, with the spread of the turmoil, surnames from the Central Plains gradually appeared in present - day East China, South China, and Central South China. Among the eight surnames that migrated to Fujian at that time was the Zhan surname. Since they established a foundation in the South early, the Zhans naturally developed into one of the well - known and prominent surnames in the South of China. During the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, the Central Plains was in turmoil and war broke out again. People in the northern regions fled the war, carrying the old and leading the young, wandering southward in search of a peaceful place. The descendants of the Zhan surname were no exception and migrated southward, which made the already large Zhan family in the South even more populous. For example, Zhan Dunren fled from Gushi, Guangzhou, Henan to Xianyou in Fujian to live in seclusion and finally settled there. During the period between the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties, there were many well - known people with the Zhan surname in historical records, and most of them were from the South. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the Zhans in Shanxi were among the surnames of the migrants from Hongdong Big Locust Tree and were resettled in Shandong, Hebei, Shaanxi, Jiangsu, Hubei and other places. After the middle of the Ming Dynasty, with the improvement of China's navigation technology, some Zhans from coastal areas such as Fujian and Guangdong crossed the sea to Taiwan to make a living. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Qing army massacred people in Sichuan, resulting in a sharp decline in the population there. Later, the Zhans from Hubei and Hunan migrated to present - day Sichuan and Chongqing along with the trend of "filling Sichuan from Huguang". After the middle of the Qing Dynasty, the distribution of the Zhan surname became even wider. Some Zhans crossed the sea to Taiwan to start a new life; others sailed to the South China Sea, migrated far to Southeast Asia, and spread to overseas places such as Europe and America. Most of the Zhans who migrated to Taiwan and overseas during the Ming and Qing Dynasties were from coastal provinces such as Guangdong, Fujian and Hainan. They are mainly distributed in Southeast Asia and have left their footprints all over the world, making contributions to the host countries and overseas Chinese communities. There are more than 130,000 people with the Zhan surname in Taiwan, ranking 37th among all surnames. They are distributed all over the island, mainly in Taipei, Zhanghua, Taizhong, Taoyuan, Miaoli, Kaohsiung and other counties and cities. Well - known figures include Zhan Shaohua, the president of Hsinchu Bank, Zhan Chunbo, the former vice - chairman of the Kuomintang, and Zhan Qixian, the former director of the Department of Health. Overseas, there are also Zhan Caiqing, the "owner of the corridor" in Thailand; Zhan Yingkao, the vice - president of the Dutch Chinese Chamber of Commerce; Zhan Yuncheng, the vice - chairman of the Italian Chinese Association; Zhan Yangyi, the president of the Milan Chinese Business Association in Italy; Zhan Yongping, the president of the Zhejiang Association in France; Zhan Jiali, a member of the Canadian Parliament; and Zhan Yunong, an academician of the US National Academy of Sciences. Today, the Zhan surname is widely distributed across the country, with a relatively large population in Guangdong, Jiangxi, Hubei, Taiwan, Fujian and other provinces. The Zhans in these five provinces account for about 60% of the total Zhan population in the country. The Zhan surname has a relatively large population, accounting for about 0.12% of the total population in China. According to the data from the National Citizen Identity Query Center of the Ministry of Public Security in July 2008, there are about 1.12 million people with the single - character Zhan, about 360,000 with the single - character Zhan (Zhan used here is homophone with the other Zhan), and the total population of people with either form of Zhan is about 1.48 million, including those in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan but excluding overseas. The global population of people with the Zhan surname is about more than two million (nearly three million).