China provides the only somewhat intact record of surnames over the
type of time frames that make asking statistical questions possible. The obvious appears confirmed but little else
appears as is to be expected.
A much more interesting question would be to study what happened to
disappearing names. This would signal
lineages under some form of pressure in an expanding base. There may even be some history there.
Universal surnames were not common in the past. We can see this in Europe were we find names
that are mostly words extant during the middle ages. If not that then the surname is often tied to
an estate or community.
Yet Europe has generated a huge number of surnames so only a few can be
described as particularly common. We
lack a version of the hundred names.
What's in a surname? New
study explores what the evolution of names reveals about China
Saturday, April 14, 2012
By Spero News 
What can surnames tell us
about the culture, genetics and history of our society? That is the question
being answered by Chinese researchers who have traced the evolution of surnames
across China. The research, published in the American Journal of Physical
Anthropology, reveals how surnames can act as a genetic stamp, allowing scientists
to trace lineage and understand the migrations and historical events which
shaped modern China.
The research was led by
Dr. Jaiwei Chen, from Beijing Normal University, and
Professor Yida Yuan fromthe Chinese Academy of Sciences.
"When it comes to
surnames the Chinese people are unique. 1.28 billion people share
7,327surnames. In fact the 100 most common names account for 85% of the
population," said Dr Chen. "This means Chinese surnames include more
cultural and genetic information than in most other countries."
Dr Chen and the
team analysed data from China's National Citizen Identity
Information, usingisonymy theory which provides a method of exploring
population structure by studying the distribution of surnames. This included
measuring Genetic distance, the genetic divergence between populations within a
species."
"Surnames are inherited
through the male line which means they can be considered markers for the Y
chromosome genes," said Dr. Chen. "This means a study of surname
distribution can help us understand genetic structures and historical social
behavior, such as the role of migrations."
The team focused on the impact
of migration and drift on the evolution of China's population structure. In
Western European countries drift is the main effect as the majority of the
population has been settled for a long time. However, in the United States
immigration has had a far greater impact, particularly with the influx of
people during the 19th and 20th centuries.
China stands unique from both
models with a 4,000-year history of recorded surnames stretching back to
the Xia Dynasty of the 21st to16thcenturies BC.
Surname distribution has been consistent since the Song Dynasty 900 years ago
and partly due to Confucian culture surnames have been well preserved through
the generations.
The team found the highest
levels of surname diversity at the Yangtze River basin, particularly
around the middle and lower reaches of the river. The team believes this is due
to multiple large migrations throughout Chinese history.
Historically 97 of the 100
most common surnames originated during the Spring and Autumn Period (722 BC)
and the Warring States Period (476 BC) when the territory of China was limited
to the central plains. There are multiple historical migrations from the
central plains to the YangtzeRiver basin and consequently the population
around the basin consists of local citizens and historical migrant groups.
The team also discovered that
the genetic distance between China's three northeastern provinces and the
eastern province of Shandong was very small, despite covering a vast
geographical area. This is due to the historic migration known as 'braving the
journey to northeast China', which witnessed 20 million people travel to the
sparsely populated provinces.
Overall geographical
distribution of surnames and population structure of modern China was found to
be the result of both drift and large scale migration as several regional
centers of Chinese civilization developed throughout the nation's history.
"The most noticeable trends are the low number of surnames and their
isolation by distance, both of which demonstrate the historic stability of
Chinese surnames," concluded Dr. Chen. "The historical inheritance of
Chinese surnames has been continuous, with a unique balance between drift and
migration after thousands of years of surname evolution."
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