What do Chinese surnames tell us about the
culture, genetics, and history of our society?
In a
study published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, researchers
reveal how surnames could be used to trace the migrations and historical events
which shaped modern China.
“When
it comes to surnames the Chinese people are unique. 1.28 billion people share
7,327 surnames. In fact the 100 most common names account for 85 percent of the
population,” said Dr. Jiawei Chen from Beijing Normal University, who led the
research with Professor Yida Yuan from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Dr.
Chen and the team analyzed data from China’s National Citizen Identity
Information, using the isonymy theory which provides a method of exploring
population structure by studying the distribution of surnames. This included
measuring genetic distance, or the genetic divergence between populations
within a species.
“Surnames
are inherited through the male line which means they can be considered markers
for the Y chromosome genes,” said Chen. “This means a study of surname
distribution can help us understand genetic structures and historical social
behavior, such as the role of migrations.”
The
team studied the impact of migration and drift on the evolution of China’s
population structure.
In
Western Europe, drift is the main effect as the majority of the population had
settled there for a long time. In the United States however, immigration has
had a far greater impact, particularly with the influx of people during the
19th and 20th centuries.
China
stands unique from both models with a combination of both drift and large scale
migration, and a 4,000-year history of recorded surnames stretching back to the
Xia Dynasty of the 21st to 16th centuries BC.
Surname
distribution has been consistent since the Song Dynasty 900 years ago, and
partly due to Confucian culture, have been well-preserved through the
generations.
The
team found the highest levels of surname diversity at the Yangtze River basin,
particularly around the middle and lower reaches of the river.
Historically,
97 of the 100 most common surnames originated during the Spring and Autumn
Period (722 BC) and the Warring States Period (476 BC) when the territory of
China was limited to the central plains.
Subsequently,
multiple historical migrations took place from the central plains to the
Yangtze River basin.
The
team also discovered that the genetic distance between China’s three
northeastern provinces and the eastern province of Shandong was very small,
despite covering a vast geographical area. This is due to the historic
migration known as ‘braving the journey to northeast China,’ which witnessed 20
million people travel to the sparsely populated provinces.
“The
most noticeable trends are the low number of surnames and their isolation by
distance, both of which demonstrate the historic stability of Chinese
surnames,” Chen said.
“The
historical inheritance of Chinese surnames has been continuous, with a unique
balance between drift and migration after thousands of years of surname
evolution,” he added.
The
article can be found at: Liu Y et al. (2012) A study of
surnames in china through isonymy.
AsianScientist
Source: Wiley-Blackwell.
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