Chai (surname) explained

Chai (also spelled as Tsai, Tchai) is a Chinese surname. The same surname is Sài in Vietnamese, and Si (Korean: 시, sometimes spelled as Shi, See, Sie, Sea) in Korean.

Chai is listed 325th in the Song dynasty classic text Hundred Family Surnames.^[1] As of 2008, it is the 127th most common surname in China, shared by 1.35 million people.^[2]

Notable people

• Chai Shao (588–638), Chinese military general in the Tang Dynasty
• Chai Rong (921–959), Chinese emperor of the Later Zhou Dynasty
• Chai Zongxun (953–973), Chinese emperor of the Later Zhou Dynasty, Chai Rong's son
• Chai Zemin (1916–2010), Chinese diplomat
• Chai Songyue (born 1941), Chinese politician
• Makana Risser Chai (born 1953), American author and massage therapist
• Mark Chai (born 1954), Hawaiian-Chinese sculptor
• Chai Hui-chen (born 1955), Taiwanese general and politician
• Arlene J. Chai (born 1955), Filipino author
• Nelson Chai (born 1965), American businessman
• Chai Ling (born 1966), Chinese student leader in the 1989 Tian'anmen Square protests
• Chai Jing (born 1976), Chinese journalist and host
• Chai Biao (born 1990), Chinese badminton player

In fiction:

• Chai Jin, fictional character in the novel Water Margin, descendant of Chai Rong
• Chai Xianghua, fictional character in the Soulcalibur video game series

See also

• Cai (surname)
• Chal (name)
• Char (name)
• Qi (surname 齊)

Notes and References

1. Web site: 百家姓 . Hundred Family Surnames . Guoxue . Chinese . 2014-09-16.
2. Web site: http://www.taiwan.cn/zppd/XSDG/200901/t20090106_811068.htm . zh:中国最新300大姓排名（2008）. 300 most common surnames in China (2008) . Taiwan.cn . Chinese . 2009-01-06 . 2014-09-18.