Wang Family History

Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 王 meaning ‘king’ or ‘royal’: (i) in some families the surname is traced back to Crown Prince Jin son of King Ling of Zhou (died 545 BC) of the Eastern Zhou dynasty. Jin incurred his father's displeasure (for criticizing plans to divert the Gu and Luo rivers) and was disinherited. His descendants adopted the surname Wang (王) in commemoration of his royal status. (ii) in other cases the name is traced back to Tian He (died around 384 BC) who usurped the throne of the state of Qi in 391 BC.

After the annihilation of Qi by the state of Qin in 221 BC some descendants of nobles of Qi adopted the surname Wang (王) in memory of the royal status of their ancestors. (iii) the surname is also borne by descendants of royal families in certain other states for example Wei during the Warring States Period (475–221 BC). (iv) in other families the surname is traced back to Bi Gan who was murdered by his nephew Zhou last king of the Shan dynasty (1600–1046 BC).

Descendants of Bi Gan also adopted the surname Wang (王). (v) the surname has also been adopted by some families of minority ethnic groups for example the Ke Yi (可頤) families of the Xianbei ethnic group. (vi) in some families this surname is traced back to ancestors who either were endowed with it by an emperor or changed their original surname claiming royal status.

Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 汪 a word applied to water and meaning both ‘deep’ and ‘puddle’ in ancient Chinese: (i) shortened form of Wang Mang (汪芒) also called Wang Wang (汪罔) the name of a state in present-day Wukang in Zhejiang province. After the extinction of this state at an uncertain date its inhabitants fled to other places and the surname was shortened to Wang (汪).

Korean: written 왕 in Chinese characters 王 meaning ‘king’. This is the only Chinese character for the surname Wang. Some sources indicate that there are fifteen Wang clans but only two can be identified: the Kaesŏng Wang clan and the Chenam Wang clan. The Kaesŏng Wang clan which originated in China ruled the Korean peninsula for almost five hundred years as the ruling dynasty of the Koryŏ period (918–1392).