 | Zhang surname: Encyclopedia - Zhang surname
Zhang (surname)
Zhang (Traditional Chinese: 張, Simplified Chinese: 张, pinyin: Zhāng, Wade-Giles: Chang, Yale: Jeung, Jyutping: Zoeng1, Hong Kong Government: Cheung) is among the most common Chinese surnames. There are currently well over 100 million people worldwide with this surname. The use of this surname dates back to about 4,700 years ago.
This surname is often mispronounced by American English speakers as IPA [ʒæŋ]; its actual pronunciation (IPA [tʂaŋ]), is pronounced somewhat like "jaang".
The corresponding Korean surname is 장; and the corresponding Vietnamese version is "Trương". The Vietnamese can clearly distinguish the 張 from Chương, which is their equivalent to the character 章. The surnames 莊 and 蔣 is also written as 장 in Korean, which are frequently transliterated as Jang or Chang, but the two characters are not pronounced as Zhang in Mandarin Chinese.
Note: 章 is a less common surname which also has the pronunciation of Zhāng.
Zhang surname - Character Analysis
The character (張) per se is comprised of 弓 (gōng -- bow used in warfare) and 长 (cháng/zhǎng -- length/to grow, though it is probably the latter that contributes to the notion of an expanding bow). Appropriately, the ancient form of this character uses 巨 (jù -- huge, towering) in place of 长, thereby suggesting an even more concrete idea; this form is considered today to be that of an ancient variant which has since faded from everyday usage. Zhāng's literal translation is "to open forth", or "to spread", although its common use is a measure word for (relatively) flat objects such as paper and mattresses.
list of common Chinese surnames, list of Korean family names
Zhang surname - History of the Surname 張
The origin of the surname Zhang is legendary. The fifth son of Huang Di (Yellow Emperor), the supreme ancestor of all Chinese people, was Qing Yang Shi (青阳氏). Qing Yang Shi's son Hui (挥) was inspired by the Chinese Arc Constellation -- Tian Gong Xing (天弓星) in the sky and invented the bow. Later Hui was assigned as Gong Zheng (弓正), the minister in charge of observing the Arc Constellation and making bows. Then Hui and his descendants were bestowed the surname Zhang, which, if broken into its constituent radicals, would mean "the master of bows" in Chinese. It is believed that the ancestors of Zhang's wore archers and the bow as a totem of their tribe.
Zhang had also been a surname by which Manchus and Mongolians chose to sinicize their names since the beginning of the Republic (1912).
Zhang surname - Prominent people with Chinese family name 張/张
(in alphabetical order)
- Iris Chang, writer
- Jung Chang, author of Wild Swans
- Michael Chang, tennis player
- Victor Chang, surgeon
- Cecilia Cheung, actress
- Jacky Cheung, actor and singer
- Leslie Cheung, actor and singer
- Maggie Cheung, actress
- Cheung Tak Lan, singer
- Zhang Ailing, (1920-1995), female romantic story writer
- Zhang Aiping, CPC general
- Zhang Bozhi, actress and singer
- Dong Yue "Cecilia" Zhang, kidnapping and murder victim
- Zhang Chunqiao, member of the Gang of Four
- Zhang Dai (1597-1689) Ming dynasty essayist, historian.
- Zhang Fei, military leader in the period of Three Kingdoms
- Zhang Guo Lao, one of the Eight Immortals
- Zhang Guoping, well-known accordionist
- Zhang Hanyun, Super Girl
- Zhang Heng, astronomer and mathematician
- Zhang Juanjuan, athlete
- Kevin Zhang, explosive material specialist
- Zhang Liang, aide of Liu Bang. His ancestors were the ministers of State of Han.
- Zhang Liao, general of wei during Three Kingdoms period
- Michael Zhang, Superstar Soccer player
- Zhang Ning, badminton player
- Zhang Qian, spent 12 years starting in 138 BC exploring much of Central Asia for Emperor Han Wu Di
- Zhang Sanfeng, semi-mythical Taoist master
- Zhang Tingyu, Qing Dynasty politician
- Zhang Xin Zhe or Jeff Chang, Taiwanese singer
- Zhang Xueliang or Chang Hsüeh-liang, (1901-2001), Manchurian warlord
- Zhang Yi, strategist during the Warring States Period
- Zhang Yi, military general of the Kingdom of Shu during the period of Three Kingdoms.
- Zhang Yimou, film director
- Zhang Zhidong, Late-Qing Dynasty politician
- Zhang Zizhong, military leader
- Zhang Zongchang, (1881-1932), warlord in Shandong
- Zhang Zuolin, Manchurian warlord, Zhang Xueliang's father
Zhang surname - Prominent people with Chinese family name 章
- Chang, John H., Taiwanese politician
- Zhang Binglin, phonologist
- Zhang Zhong, chess player
- Zhang Ziyi, actress
Zhang surname - Prominent people with Korean family name 장 張/章
- Chang, Jung Koo, (born 1963), world champion Korean boxer
- Sarah Chang, a violinist
Zhang surname - Prominent people with Vietnamese family name Trương 張
Zhang surname - Prominent people with Vietnamese family name Chương 章
- Chang, John H., Taiwanese politician
See also
- list of common Chinese surnames
- list of Korean family names
Categories: Incomplete lists | Chinese family names | Korean family names
Other related archives138 BC, 1901, 2001, Cecilia Cheung, Central Asia, Chang, John H., Chang, Jung Koo, Cheung Tak Lan, Chinese family names, Chinese surnames, Dong Yue "Cecilia" Zhang, Eight Immortals, Gang of Four, Han Wu Di, Hong Kong, Huang Di, IPA, Incomplete lists, Iris Chang, Jacky Cheung, Jung Chang, Jyutping, Kingdom of Shu, Korean, Korean family names, Leslie Cheung, Liu Bang, Maggie Cheung, Manchurian, Michael Chang, Qing Dynasty, Sarah Chang, Shandong, Simplified Chinese, State of Han, Super Girl, Taoist, Three Kingdoms, Traditional Chinese, Victor Chang, Vietnamese, Wade-Giles, Warring States Period, Yale, Zhang Ailing, Zhang Aiping, Zhang Binglin, Zhang Chunqiao, Zhang Dai, Zhang Fei, Zhang Guo Lao, Zhang Heng, Zhang Juanjuan, Zhang Liang, Zhang Liao, Zhang Ning, Zhang Qian, Zhang Sanfeng, Zhang Tingyu, Zhang Xueliang, Zhang Yi, Zhang Yimou, Zhang Zhidong, Zhang Zhong, Zhang Ziyi, Zhang Zizhong, Zhang Zongchang, Zhang Zuolin, list of Korean family names, list of common Chinese surnames, measure word, pinyin, romantic
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Zhang surname", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
