Shǐ (surname) explained

Shi
Language:	Chinese
Language origin:	Chinese
Meaning:	history
Variant:	Shi, Shih (Mandarin) Sze, Si (Cantonese)
Pronunciation:	Shǐ (Mandarin) Sú (Hokkien) Si^2 (Cantonese) Shr^3 (Xiang)

Shǐ (史) is a Chinese surname meaning "history" of "official historiographer". It is romanized Shih in Wade–Giles, or Sze or Si in Cantonese romanization. According to a 2008 study, it was the 82nd most common name in China. A 2013 study found that it is shared by 2.85 million people, or 0.210% of the population, with the province with the most people being Henan.^[1] It is the 63rd name on the Hundred Family Surnames poem.^[2]

Origins

1. It is said to be borne by descendants of Cang Jie, the official historiographer during the reign of the mythical Huang Di, the ‘Yellow Emperor’^[3]
2. Shi (史), post name of an official in charge of recording historical events during the Western Zhou dynasty. Later, the surname was subsequently adopted as a surname by descendants of official historiographers in many regional states during the Spring and Autumn period
3. adopted as a surname by the Sogdians, and became one of the "Nine Sogdian Surnames", also known as ‘nine surnames of Zhaowu’
4. adopted as a surname by the Ashina tribe (阿史那), a Turkic tribe during the Tang dynasty
5. descendants of Shi Ji (史繼), who was bestowed with the surname by Emperor Suzong of Tang

Notable people

• Empress Shi (Xin dynasty) (史皇后), empress during the Xin dynasty
• Shi Dongpeng (史冬鹏), a Chinese hurdler who specializes in the 110 metre hurdles.
• Shi Zhi (史侄), a Zhou-era public officer
• Shi Siming (史思明), emperor of the Yan dynasty
• Shi Miyuan (史彌遠), politician during the Southern Song dynasty
• Shi Kefa (史可法), politician during the Southern Ming dynasty
• Shi Liangcai (史量才, 1880–1934), a journalist
• Shi Meng (史萌), athlete from the People's Republic of China who competes in triathlon
• Shi Liang (footballer) (史亮), a footballer
• Shi Jiuyong (史久镛), an International Court of Justice judge
• Shi Liang (史良), Chinese lawyer, activist, and first Minister of Justice of the People's Republic of China

Notes and References

1. 中国四百大姓Front Cover, 袁义达, 邱家儒, Beijing Book Co. Inc., 1 January 2013
2. K. S. Tom. [1989] (1989). Echoes from Old China: Life, Legends and Lore of the Middle Kingdom. University of Hawaii Press. .
3. The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland