Zhang Family History

Chinese:: Mandarin form of the surname 張 meaning ‘to draw a bow’ in ancient Chinese: (i) for some families it is traced back to Xie Zhang (解張) whose style name was Zhang Hou (張侯) (‘Marquis Zhang’) a noble in the state of Jin (located in present-day Shanxi province) during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (ii) this surname is also borne by descendants of Hui, a grandson of the legendary Huang Di the ‘Yellow Emperor’ (c. 27th century BC). Hui was given the title Gong Zheng denoting an official in charge of making bows. (張 Zhang means ‘to draw a bow’ in ancient Chinese).

(iii) from the name of Zhang Liao (張遼) an official in the state of Wei in northern China during the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD). (iv) the surname is also traced back to Long Youna, chief of one of the minority ethnic groups (located mainly in present-day Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan provinces) during the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD) who was given the Chinese surname Zhang (張) by Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of the state of Shu.

Mandarin form of the surname 章 meaning ‘stamp, seal’ in Chinese: from Zhang (鄣) the name of an ancient fiefdom (located in present-day Shandong province) which was annexed by the state of Qi in 664 BC. When the name of the fiefdom was adopted as a surname, the written form of the Chinese character 鄣 was simplified to 章.

Mandarin form of the surname 仉 an interchangeable Chinese character with another Chinese character Zhang (掌 meaning ‘palm, to hold’ in Chinese) in ancient China: (i) said to be traced back to the Dang (黨 pronounced the same as Zhang (掌) in ancient times) family in the state of Lu during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC).

(ii) said to be borne by the descendants of Zhang Qi (仉晵), one of the four famous lords in the Liang period (502 – 557 AD) during the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420–589 AD). (iii) a surname from the Hui ethnic group said to be borne by the descendants of Zhang Jisha (仉機沙), a famous Muslim poet during the Yuan dynasty (1206 – 1368 AD) whose ancestry could be traced back to the Arab Empire.