Zhang

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Zhang ( Chinese  張  /  张 , Pinyin Zhāng ) is one of the most common Chinese family names . In the 1990 edition of the Guinness Book of Records , the name is referred to as the most common surname in the world, borne by over a hundred million people worldwide. It is the third most common surname in the People's Republic of China .

Pronunciation and transcription

Zhang is transcribed and pronounced in many different ways. In standard Chinese it is in the pinyin inscription: Zhāng , according to Wade-Giles : Chang , Tongyong Pinyin : Jhāng . In Cantonese it is called Jèung and in Hong Kong Cheung . In Minnan the legend is: Tiu , in Southeast Asia, where a number of dialects are spoken: Teo or Teoh in the Minnan / Teochew dialects, Chong in Hakka, Cheong in Cantonese. There are also other spellings depending on the transcription of the respective dialect. The corresponding Korean surname is 장, which is usually transcribed as Jang or Chang . Occasionally there is confusion with the surnames Zhuang (莊) and Jiang (蔣), which are also spelled 장 in Korean and are often also transcribed as Jang or Chang . The Vietnamese version is Trương ( Chuong ).

There is also the last name Zhang, 章, which is less common, but is also pronounced Zhāng in Mandarin , Jèung in Cantonese and Jang in Korean. In Minnan, however, this name is pronounced differently (Chiong) than Tiuⁿ (張). This name is also pronounced differently in Vietnamese: Chương in contrast to Trương (張).

The pronunciation in the International Phonetic Alphabet is: [ ʈʂɑŋ ].

The character

The character (張) contains the elements 弓 ( gōng - a bow for warfare) and 长 ( cháng or zhǎng - "length" or "grow", creating the idea of ​​a taut bow). Accordingly, this character used to be written with 巨 ( jù - powerful, outstanding) instead of 长, which is even more concrete; this shape is now considered to be an ancient variant that has disappeared from everyday use. Literally translated, Zhāng means "open" or "spread", although it is usually used as a measure of relatively flat objects such as paper and mattresses.

Last name history (張)

The origin of the surname is explained by a legend. The fifth son of Huang Di , the Yellow Emperor - the legendary forefather of all Han Chinese , was Qing Yang Shi (青阳 氏). Qing Yang Shi's son Hui (挥) was inspired by the Chinese bow constellation - Tian Gong Xing (天弓 星) in heaven to invent the bow. Hui was later appointed Gong Zheng (弓 正), the minister responsible for observing the constellation of arcs and making bows. Hui and his descendants were given the surname Zhang, so they would have been the "bow masters". The ancestors of the Zhang were probably archers and wore the bow as a tribal symbol.

Name bearer

such as

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  • Zhang Fakui (1896–1980), Chinese general in the National Revolutionary Army
  • Zhang Fan (* 1962), Chinese tennis player
  • Zhang Fei (167–221), general of the Shu Han State of China
  • Feng Zhang (* 1981), American neuroscientist
  • Zhang Fengliu (* 1989), Chinese wrestler

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Mythological and fictional characters

See also

Chang ; Shang