Shen (surname)

Shen can be a pinyin transliteration of one of several Chinese family names 沈, 申, 慎.

Surname 沈

沈 (pinyin: Shěn) is the 14th surname in the Hundred Family Surnames text. Less commonly, the same character can also be pronounced Zhen, which indicates a different origin from Shen.

As descendants of Shao Hao: The grandson of Shao Hao was Zhuanxu's teacher and had two sons, Yun Ge and Tai Dai. Tai Dai was awarded the land of ShanXi, for his achievements in fighting the flood, during Zhuanxu’s reign. The descendants of Tai Dai were divided into four tribes, Shen, Yi, Ru, and Huang, known as the four kingdoms. The Shen kingdom was located at Runan County in Henan. In 506 B.C., all the northern kingdoms formed an alliance in their effort to fight the Chu kingdom. The Shen kingdom did not participate and was eliminated by the Cai kingdom. From then on, its people began to bear the last name Shen.

Ran Ji, the youngest son of King Wen of Zhou and brother of King Wu of Zhou, was awarded the kingdom of Shen, for his achievement of suppressing the rebellion following his brother’s death. His descendents also carry the name of Shen.

Yet another origin is the Mi (芈) surname of the State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period. Shu, a great-grandson of King Zhuang of Chu, was appointed yin (governor) of Shen (in today's Linquan County of Anhui Province) and known as Shen Yin Shu (Chinese: 沈尹戍). In 506 BCE the State of Wu invaded Chu, with its army commanded by the famous military strategist Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War. Shen Yin Shu, who had risen to the position of sima (chief commander of the army), died in the aftermath of the historic Battle of Boju. Some of his descendants adopted the surname Shen, while others adopted the surname Ye in honor of his son Shen Zhuliang, the Duke of Ye.

The You clan (尤) is said to be a branch of the Shen clan, having removed the radical (氵) from their surname. The You and Shen clans could not intermarry. This occurred around the 10th century due to conflict with a different Shen (审 - pinyin: Shěn) a ruler in Fujian province.

The Surname is also written as:

• Sim (Hokkien)
• Sum or Sam (Cantonese)

The equivalent name in Korean is Sim and Thẩm in Vietnamese.

Surname 申

申 (pinyin: Shēn) is the 298th surname in the Hundred Family Surnames text.

The surname Shen 申 is one of the 50 most common surnames in China with its influence most felt in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang region. It originated from the surname Ying, with its ancestor called Shishen, son of Emperor Ku who in turn was a descendant of the Yellow Emperor.

The Shishen clan later lived together with the Shaohao clan and was transformed by the eastern nationalities. It was therefore a Ying surname. Later they established a state called Shen. When King Zhao of Zhou Dynasty went on a southern expedition the Ying-surnamed state Shen was exterminated and its descendants took the name of the state as their surname.

During the Xia Dynasty people established a state Shen of the Si (姒) surname. By the early Zhou the State Jiang conquered the Si-surnamed state Shen and its people migrated south to Shenlu of the Chu region and their descendants also changed their surname to Shen 申.

The state Shen was ruled by the Jiāng family (姜) related to the Zhou. That State existed from (827 – 782 BCE), to 688 and 680 BCE. The origin of this state arose out of enfeoffed territory of King Xuān’s maternal uncle in the former State of Xiè (謝國/谢国)[3]. The State of Shen acted as a strategic southern gateway to the lands controlled by the Zhou Kings.

In Vietnam, the equivalent surname is Thân.

In Korea, the equivalent name is Shin or 신.

Surname 慎

慎 (pinyin: Shèn) is the 340th surname in the Hundred Family Surnames text. It is said to originate in Yingshang County (颍上县).

In Vietnam, the equivalent surname is Thận.

External links

• Peoples Daily online