Zheng (surname)

Zheng

Pronunciation| Zhèng (Mandarin Pinyin)
Zeng6 (Cantonese Jyutping)
Tēⁿ (Hokkien and Teochew Pe̍h-ōe-jī)
Dâng (Hokchew Bàng-uâ-cê)
Language(s)| Chinese
Origin
Meaning| Name of an ancient state in Henan province
Region of origin| China
Other names
Variant form(s)| Chung, Jung, Jeong (Korean)
Saetae (Thai)
Trịnh (Vietnamese)

Zheng (simplified Chinese: 郑; traditional Chinese: 鄭; pinyin: Zhèng; Wade–Giles: Cheng4, [ʈʂə́ŋ] ⓘ) is a Chinese surname. It is the 7th name on the Hundred Family Surnames poem. In 2006, Zheng ranked 21st in China's list of top 100 most common surnames. Zheng belongs to the second major group of ten surnames which makes up more than 10% of the Chinese population.[1][2][3] Zheng was a major surname of the rich and powerful during China's Tang dynasty.[4]

In Republic of China (Taiwan) and Hong Kong, the name is normally romanized as Cheng or Tcheng (occasionally romanized as Chang in Hong Kong although that variant is more commonly used for another Chinese name, Zhang). In Malaysia, Cheng is commonly romanized as Cheng, Cheang, Chang, Tay, Tee and Teh. It is spelled as Tay in Singapore, The in Indonesia, and Ty in Philippines,[5] from the Hakka, Hokkien and Teochew pronunciation of the character. It is also romanized as Dang from Hokchew.

The surname also has taken form outside of Chinese societies: in Korean, the name is written 정 and transliterated as Jeong, Jung, or Chung. It is the fifth most common Korean surname (after Kim, Lee, Park, and Choi), with about 4.85% of the South Korean population (2,230,611 people) having this name.[citation needed]

## Origin

[edit]

The Zheng surname originated in Henan. In 806 BC, King Xuan, the penultimate king of the Western Zhou dynasty, enfeoffed his younger brother Prince You, who became posthumously known as Duke Huan of Zheng, at Zheng (present-day Hua County, Shaanxi). Duke Huan was killed along with King You of Zhou when the Quanrong tribes sacked the Zhou capital Haojing in 771 BC. Duke Huan was succeeded by his son Duke Wu, who helped King Ping of Zhou establish the Eastern Zhou dynasty in Luoyang, and his feudal state of Zheng was also moved east to present-day Henan. His descendants and many people of the state later adopted Zheng as their surname.[6][7][8]

The city of Xingyang is considered as the origin place of the people whose surname is Zheng. Today, Xingyang is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhengzhou (鄭州) which translates to "Settlement of Zheng". Zhengzhou is the capital of Henan province and is located within the boundaries of the ancient state of Zheng (state). There is also another city called Xinzheng ("New Zheng"), also under the administration of Zhengzhou.

The Zheng clan character (鄭) is featured prominently on the flag of the short-lived rebel Kingdom of Tungning founded by Ming-loyalist Koxinga (who had the surname Zheng) in Taiwan. Also called the Kingdom of Formosa.

During the Tang dynasty the Li family of Zhaojun 趙郡李氏, the Cui family of Boling 博陵崔氏, the Cui family of Qinghe 清河崔氏, the Lu family of Fanyang 范陽盧氏, the Zheng family of Xingyang 荥陽鄭氏, the Wang family of Taiyuan 太原王氏, and the Li family of Longxi 隴西李氏 were the seven noble families between whom marriage was banned by law.[9] The marriages between the families were performed clandestinely after the prohibition was implemented on the seven families by Emperor Gaozong.[10] Their status as "Seven Great surnames" became known during Gaozong's rule.[11]

## Distribution

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Of the top 30 cities in China, 郑 ranked 4th most common surname in the city of Fuzhou.[12]

## Spelling and pronunciation

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Chinese  | Mandarin (Hanyu Pinyin)  | Hakka  | Cantonese (Jyutping)  | Hokkien (Pe̍h-ōe-jī)  | Hokchew (Bàng-uâ-cê)

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Trad.  | Simp.
鄭 | 郑 | Zhèng  | Meixian: cang52
Huiyang: cang53
Fengshun: chang31
Wuhua: qang31
Songkou: cang52
Yingde: qang31
Sixian: cang55
Hailu: chang33
Dabu: chang53
Raoping: chang24
Zhao'an: chang55
Hong Kong: cang55 | zeng6 | Tēⁿ[permanent dead link] / Tīⁿ[permanent dead link] | Dâng

## Notable people

[edit]

There are over 400 Zhengs listed in the Who's Who in Chinese History.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]

### Monarch

[edit]

* Zheng Taksin (1737–1768), King of Thonburi Kingdom

### Arts, entertainment & media

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* Wah Chang, 鄭華明 (1917–2003), Honolulu-born designer for theatre and science fiction
* Adam Cheng (b. 1947), Hong Kong singer and actor
* Ekin Cheng (b. 1967), Hong Kong singer and actor
* Joe Cheng (b. 1982), Taiwanese actor and model
* Kevin Cheng (b. 1969), Hong Kong actor
* Sammi Cheng (b. 1972), Hong Kong singer and actress
* Tay Ping Hui (b.1970), Singaporean actor
* Sharon Tay (b. 1966), Singaporean American journalist and television host
* The Teng Chun (1902–1977), Indonesian film producer
* Zheng Banqiao (1693–1765), artist and poet, Qing dynasty
* Zheng Guogu (born 1970), artist
* Zheng Shuang (actress, born 1991) (born 1991), Chinese Actress
* Zheng Zhenduo (1898–1958), journalist, modern writer, archeologist and literature scholar
* Zheng Geping (b. 1964), Singaporean actor
* Tay Ying (b. 1996), Singaporean actress
* Kurt Tay (b. 1982), Singaporean online personality

### Sports, fitness

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* Cheng Man-ch'ing (1902–75), martial artist, doctor, calligrapher, painter, poet
* Zheng Haohao (b. 2012), Chinese skateboarder
* Zheng Jie (b. 1983), Chinese tennis player
* Zheng Saisai (b. 1994), Chinese tennis player
* Zheng Siwei (b. 1997), Chinese badminton player
* Zheng Qinwen (b. 2002), Chinese tennis player
* Zheng Yumin (born 1967), Chinese badminton player
* Zheng Zhi (b. 1980), Chinese footballer

### Other

[edit]

* Zheng Chenggong (1624–62), Ming dynasty military leader who founded the rebellious Kingdom of Tungning (1661–1683) in Taiwan during the Qing dynasty, the reason that the flag of Tungning featured the character 鄭 (Zheng) in its flag; better known in the West as Koxinga

* Zheng He (1371–1435), Chinese mariner and explorer who was famous for his vast treasure fleet and for reaching East Africa, South Asia, and South East Asia

* Zheng Yi (pirate) (1765–1807), a powerful Chinese pirate operating from Guangdong and throughout the South China Sea in the late 1700s
* Ching Shih (1775–1844), a female Chinese pirate and the widow of Zheng Yi, known for fighting the Qing, British, and Portuguese navies with 300+ junks and 20,000 - 40,000 Chinese pirates
* Zheng Yifeng (born 1851), businessman and philanthropist based in Bangkok, known as Yi Kor Hong or Er Ger Feng.
* Cheng Wen-tsan (born 1967), Mayor of Taoyuan City
* Cheng Hsiao-yu (1911–1942), fighter pilot and commander of the Chinese Air Force 4th Pursuit Group during the War of Resistance-World War II
* Zheng Shaoxiong (1997–2021), Chinese student who was murdered in the U.S.
* Cheng Yu-tung (1925–2016), Hong Kong billionaire
* Chung Keng Quee
* Chung Kok Ming
* Chung On Siew
* Chung Thye Phin
* Chung Thye Yong
* Nien Cheng (1915–2009), author and survivor of seven years of solitary confinement at the hands of the Communist party
* Tcheng Yu-hsiu (1891–1959), the first female lawyer and judge in Chinese history
* Teh Hong Piow (1930–2022), chairman of Public Bank Berhad in Malaysia
* Zheng Tianshou a pirate who pillaged during the Northern Song dynasty

* Alvin Cheng Kam-moon, a Hong Kong student activist
* Carrie Lam née Cheng Yuet-ngor, Hong Kong politician
* Claudio Teehankee (1918–1989), Chinese-Filipino judge, later ambassador. He is included here under Cheng, Zheng because in Hokkien, his surname is Tee; similar to Malaysian or Singapore surnames Teh or Tay.
* Tay Yong Kwang, Singaporean judge
* Kevin Joshua Ng, a Filipino-Chinese AI professional based in Manila. While his surname doesn't conform to the common variations of Zheng, his Chinese surname is 鄭.

## See also

[edit]

* Zheng clan of Xingyang, a prominent clan between the Han and Tang dynasties
* Zheng dynasty, Koxinga's family, which ruled Taiwan during the early Qing dynasty
* Jeong (surname), Zheng in Korean. Alternatively spelled Chung, Jung, or Jong.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ National Natural Science Foundation, China. Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. China renews top 100 surnames, Li still the biggest, People's Daily, January 11, 2006.
2. ^ Consulate-General of the People's Republic of China in Houston, Texas
3. ^ Origins of Chinese Names By Chunjiang Fu, Asiapac Editorial, Wei Lin Chua, Joo Ling Choong Published by Asiapac Books Pte Ltd, 2007; ISBN 981-229-462-7, ISBN 978-981-229-462-3; p. 37 [dead link]
4. ^ Origins of Chinese Names By Chunjiang Fu, Asiapac Editorial, Wei Lin Chua, Joo Ling Choong Published by Asiapac Books Pte Ltd, 2007; ISBN 981-229-462-7, ISBN 978-981-229-462-3; p. 36 [dead link]
5. ^ Setyautama, Sam; Mihardja, Suma (2008). Tokoh-tokoh Etnis Tionghoa di Indonesia [Ethnic Chinese Figures in Indonesia] (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Gramedia. ISBN 978-979-9101-25-9.
6. ^ Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
7. ^ Top 100 surnames: in the Lower Mainland by Chad Skelton, published in the Vancouver Sun, Saturday, November 03, 2007 Archived June 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
8. ^ Origins of Chinese Names By Chunjiang Fu, Asiapac Editorial, Wei Lin Chua, Joo Ling Choong Published by Asiapac Books Pte Ltd, 2007; ISBN 981-229-462-7, ISBN 978-981-229-462-3; p. 60 [dead link]
9. ^ "p. 67" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
10. ^ A Study of Yuan Zhen's Life and Verse 809--810: Two Years that Shaped His Politics and Prosody. 2008. pp. 65–. ISBN 978-0-549-80334-8.
11. ^ William H. Nienhauser (2010). Tang Dynasty Tales: A Guided Reader. World Scientific. pp. 78–. ISBN 978-981-4287-28-9.
12. ^ "https://www.douban.com/group/topic/23803598/"(Chinese)
13. ^ Who's who in China, 1919
14. ^ Who's who in China, Containing the Pictures and Biographics of Some of China's Political, Financial By John Benjamin Powell, Hollington Kong Tong Published by Millard's review, 1920
15. ^ Who's who in China [Supplement to the 3d Ed.] edited by John Benjamin Powell Published by The China Weekly Review, 1928
16. ^ Who's who in China: Biographies of Chinese : Supplement By China Weekly Review Published by China Weekly Review, 1931
17. ^ Who's who in China: Containing the Pictures and Biographies of China's Best Known Political, Financial, Business and Professional Leaders ... By Zhixiang Hao Published by The China weekly review, 1931
18. ^ Who's who in China Published by China Weekly Review, 1936; Item notes: 1936
19. ^ Who's who in China: Biographies of Chinese Leaders. Chung-kuo Ming Jen Lu Published by The China Weekly Review, 1936
20. ^ Who's who in China: Biographies of Chinese Leaders : Supplement to Fifth Edition : (including a Section Embracing Those who are Affiliated with Japanese-sponsored Administrations Within Areas Controlled by the Japanese Military Forces Published by The China weekly review, 1940
21. ^ Who's who in China By Who's Who Staff Published by AMS Press, 1950; ISBN 0-404-56968-4, ISBN 978-0-404-56968-6
22. ^ Who's who in China; Biographical Sketches of 542 Chinese Communist Leaders.: Biographical Sketches of 542 Chinese Communist Leaders By Donald W. Klein Published 1959
23. ^ Who's who in China, 1918–1950: With an Index By Jerome Cavanaugh, Chinese Materials Center Published by Chinese Materials Center, 1982; Item notes: v.1
24. ^ Who's who in China: Current Leaders By Who's Who in China, "Zhongguo ren ming da ci dian" bian ji bu; Published by Foreign Languages Press, 1989; ISBN 0-8351-2352-9, ISBN 978-0-8351-2352-5
25. ^ Who's who in China: Chinese-English Manual of Chinese Leaders and Government Organizations = 汉英中国领导人暨政府机构手册 Published by TWL, 1993
26. ^ Who's Who in China By Sony Imagesoft Published by Sonic Books, 1994; ISBN 1-56673-135-6, ISBN 978-1-56673-135-5
27. ^ Who's who in China: [a First-ever Comprehensive Compilation of the Powerful, Affluent, and Influential in China - Their Stories, Net Worth and Networks] Contributor Gerald Leong Published by Inspire Publ, 2004; ISBN 3-938159-00-6, ISBN 978-3-938159-00-2

## External links

[edit]

* Categories of Chinese Surnames

## Further reading

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* Surnames of a Hundred Families (Bai Jia Xing), 960AD-1127AD
* Annal of Surnames by Gao Shilian, 627AD
* Chinese Dimensions: Their Roots, Mindset and Psyche by Dr.Yow Yit Seng, 2006, Malaysia, 1st Edition; ISBN 967-978-927-6

* v
* t
* e

100 most common family names in mainland China (2020)

1–25|

* Wáng 王
* Lǐ 李
* Zhāng 张
* Liú 刘
* Chén 陈
* Yáng 杨
* Huáng 黄
* Zhào 赵
* Wú 吴
* Zhōu 周
* Xú 徐
* Sūn 孙
* Mǎ 马
* Zhū 朱
* Hú 胡
* Guō 郭
* Hé 何
* Lín 林
* Luó 罗
* Gāo 高
* Zhèng 郑
* Liáng 梁
* Xiè 谢
* Sòng 宋
* Táng 唐

26–50|

* Xǔ 许
* Hán 韩
* Dèng 邓
* Féng 冯
* Cáo 曹
* Péng 彭
* Zēng 曾
* Xiāo 萧
* Tián 田
* Dǒng 董
* Pān 潘
* Yuán 袁
* Cài 蔡
* Jiǎng 蒋
* Yú 余
* Yú 于
* Dù 杜
* Yè 叶
* Chéng 程
* Wèi 魏
* Sū 苏
* Lǚ 吕
* Dīng 丁
* Rén 任
* Lú 卢

51–75|

* Yáo 姚
* Shěn 沈
* Zhōng 钟
* Jiāng 姜
* Cuī 崔
* Tán 谭
* Lù 陆
* Fàn 范
* Wāng 汪
* Liào 廖
* Shí 石
* Jīn 金
* Wéi 韦
* Jiǎ 贾
* Xià 夏
* Fù 傅
* Fāng 方
* Zōu 邹
* Xióng 熊
* Bái 白
* Mèng 孟
* Qín 秦
* Qiū 邱
* Hóu 侯
* Jiāng 江

76–100|

* Yǐn 尹
* Xuē 薛
* Yán 阎
* Duàn 段
* Léi 雷
* Lóng 龙
* Lí 黎
* Shǐ 史
* Táo 陶
* Hè 贺
* Máo 毛
* Hǎo 郝
* Gù 顾
* Gōng 龚
* Shào 邵
* Wàn 万
* Qín 覃
* Wǔ 武
* Qián 钱
* Dài 戴
* Yán 严
* Mò 莫
* Kǒng 孔
* Xiàng 向
* Cháng 常

Related|

* Hundred Family Surnames
* List of common Chinese surnames
* 101–200 Most Common Family Names in mainland China

Surname list

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