Qiū (surname)

For other similarly pronounced Chinese surnames, see Qiú.
Qiu
Qiū surname in traditional Chinese characters
PronunciationQiū (Pinyin)
Jau1 (Jyutping)
Khu (Pe̍h-ōe-jī)
Language(s)Chinese, Korean
Origin
Language(s)Old Chinese
Region of originChina
Other names
Variant form(s)Qiū (Mandarin)
Yau (Cantonese)
Kho, Khoe, Khoo, Koo, Khu (Hokkien, Teochew)
Khâu (Vietnamese)
Koo, Gu, Ku (Korean)

Qiu is an East Asian surname (Chinese: 丘/邱; pinyin: Qiū; Wade–Giles: Ch'iu1; Jyutping: Jau1; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Khu). This surname is common in Mainland China, and is also one of the most influential surnames in Taiwan, as well as the Sichuan and Fujian provinces in the South China region.[1] As well as being a surname, the character 邱 also means "mound, dune, or hill". A less common surname is 秋, pronounced the same in Mandarin but differently in Cantonese and Hokkien (pinyin: Qiū; Jyutping: Cau1; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chhiu).

丘/邱 also appears in Korea, where they may be transliterated as:

The surname also appears in the Philippines from immigrants from the South of China. It was anglicized as:

丘/邱 ranks 151st in the Hundred Family Surnames, and is very common in Luoyang, Henan or Wuxing, Zhejiang. 秋 is common with Taiwanese aboriginals, but is otherwise rare, ranking 237th. 邱 is a very rare surname in South Korea, with census records noting a distribution of less than 2000 with the name.

History

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Qiu (邱) family ancestral temple in Xiazai Village, Cangnan County, Zhejiang

The surname has several historical origins:

  • In 1046 BC, King Wu of the Zhou dynasty overthrew the Shang dynasty with the help of his adviser, Jiang Ziya. Jiang's clan later settled in the Fufeng County of Shaanxi, where they took the name of the then-capital, Qiu, as their surname. Their descendants bore this surname until the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor (1677–1735) in the Qing dynasty, when some adopted the written form 邱 to distinguish it from the name of Confucius (孔丘).[1] However, the change was mostly adopted by Hokkiens while the Hakkas generally refused. Many Hakkas who refused the change were then prosecuted by the Qing government. It was only after the fall of the Qing dynasty and establishment of the Republic of China in 1912, that some members of the Qiu (邱) family reverted to their ancient surname Qiu (丘)[2]
  • In the early Zhou dynasty, King Wu awarded Cao Xie, the descendant of Zhuanxu, the land of Zhu (now it is located southeast part of Qufu, Shandong Province) and established a state there. During the Spring and Autumn period, there was a senior official in the state named Qiu Ruo, and his descendants have taken Qiu as their surname since then.[1]
  • An official named Zuo Qiuming in the Lu state in the Spring and Autumn period lived in Zuo Qiu (now in Dingtao in southern Shandong). And his descendants took the last part of the place name as their surname. In the pre-Qin period (21st century-221 BC), most of the Qiu families lived in the Shandong area. After the Qin and Han dynasties, the Qiu families gradually moved to the southern areas. And most of them were big families to the south of the Yangtze River. The Qiu families entered Taiwan in the early Qing dynasty and Qiu has become one of the popular surnames in the country.
  • Another sect came from the Qiudun (丘敦) clan of the Wuhuan, who changed their clan name to Qiu when they became sinicized during the Southern and Northern Dynasties

Others

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  • Chiu Chuang-huan (born 1925), President of Examination Yuan (1993–1996)
  • Paul Chiu (born 1942), Vice Premier of the Republic of China (2008–2009)
  • Xia dynasty's period feudal lords Qiuwu (九五, Guo) clan change surname to Jiu (九), or Qiu (仇).
  • Xia dynasty's Hou (侯, Hou) clan change surname to Qiu (仇). surname Hou (侯) from Si (姒) clan of the Xia dynasty.
  • Zhou dynasty's Ji (姬, Kei, Ki, Hi) clan changed their surname to Qiu (秋) in the early Zhou dynasty.
  • Qiuqiu (秋秋, Chuchu) clan change surname to Qiu (秋).

Notable people with the surname

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丘

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邱

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秋

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  • Qiu Jin (秋瑾), Chinese revolutionary

Unknown

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Chinese surname history: Qiu, People's Daily, 2005-12-08
  2. ^ Chung, Y.N.(2003). About Chinese Surnames. Available: http://www.asiawind.com/forums/read.php?f=1&i=4672&t=4601&v=f
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