Yuan

Chengtao Tu, with its ancestor being Yuan Zheng. It is the 33rd surname among the top 100 contemporary surnames in China. The contemporary population with the surname Yuan is about 6.5 million, accounting for approximately 0.54% of the total population in China. The ancestors of the Yuan family who migrated to Hongdong during the Ming Dynasty were from Pingyang and Taiyuan prefectures, Ze, Lu, Liao, Fen, and Qin provinces, as well as from Hongdong and Zhaocheng counties. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, it was ordered to relocate the large locust trees in Hongdong to other places. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, their descendants were distributed in Henan, Shandong, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Anhui, Jiangsu, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Shanxi and other places. 

The earliest record of the surname Yuan can be found in the Eastern Han Dynasty's "Qian Fu Lun".

The surname originates from the Gui surname. According to the "Speeches and Actions of the Mingxian Clan", "Genealogy Table of Prime Ministers in the New Book of Tang", "Genealogy of Ming Surnames", and "Differentiation of Ancient and Modern Surnames", it is said that Shun, one of the Five Emperors of ancient times, was a descendant of Zhuanxu and obtained the Yao surname because he was born in Yaoxu. He once lived by the Guixi River, and his descendants took Guixi as their surname. The descendants of the Gui surname passed down to Hu Gongman and were granted the title of Marquis of Chen in the early Western Zhou Dynasty. The grandson of Marquis of Chen, Hu Gongman, was named Jing Bogeng, and the ninth generation grandson of Jing Bogeng was named Zhu, with the courtesy name Bo Gu. Guizhu's grandson's name is Taotu, and Taotu uses the character '爰' from his grandfather's character as his surname, known as the '爰' clan. During the Spring and Autumn Period, the Gu family inherited the title of Shangqing from the state of Chen. Due to the homophonic nature of the characters "gu" and "yuan", "yuan", "zhu", "yuan", and "yuan", later descendants took these six characters as their surnames. As recorded in the "Yuanshu Genealogy", "one surname has six characters and five ethnic differences." In the late Qin Dynasty, Yuan Gao, a descendant of Tao Tu, sought refuge between the Yellow River and Luo River. His youngest son Zheng changed the Yuan surname to the homophonic Yuan surname, and Yuan Zheng became the founder of the Yuan surname.

Yuanxing County mainly includes Chen County, Runan County, Henan County, Dongguang County, Pengcheng County, Huayin County, Chenliu County, Puyang County, Jingzhao County, Taiyuan County, Xiangyang County, Yichun County, etc. Runan Commandery: Established in the fourth year of Emperor Gaozu of Han (203 BC). Equivalent to the southern central part of Henan Province and the area north of the Huai River in Anhui Province today. The capital was located in Shangcai (now southwest of Shangcai County, Henan Province).

The Yuan family takes Chen Jun, Runan, Pengcheng, Chenliu, Woxue, Shouzheng, and others as their hall names. Woxue Hall and Shouzheng Hall: both are stories of Yuan An in the Eastern Han Dynasty. When Yuan An was not an official, he lived as a guest in Luoyang and had a great reputation. One winter, Luoyang ordered to visit him in the snow. The snow in his yard was very deep, and the Luoyang magistrate ordered his followers to sweep a path before entering Yuan An's house. Yuan An was shivering on the bed due to the cold. The Luoyang magistrate asked, "Why didn't he ask his relatives and neighbors for help?" Yuan An replied, "Everyone doesn't have a good life, how can I disturb them on a snowy day?" The Luoyang magistrate admired his virtue and named him filial piety. This is the origin of the 'Sleeping Snow Hall'. Yuan An was rigorous and later became the governor of Chu County. Due to the rebellion of King Ying of Chu, thousands of people were implicated. When Yuan An handled this case, he cleared and clarified the situation, released more than 4000 people, and vigorously exonerated those who had been wronged. Later on, the powerful Dou clan seized power, and Yuan An defended Zheng and refused to surrender, hence it was also called "Shouzhengtang".

The Tang couplets of the Yuan surname include: Yangfeng Renzheng (Yuan Hong); Woxue Qingcao (Yuan An). Loyal minister and filial son (Yuan Can); Four generations and three dukes (Yuan An). A palace maid of the Sui Dynasty, renowned for her role as a flower attendant (Yuan Bao'er); Suiyuan's younger brother, Xiaocao Louju (Yuan Mei). Who goes out of rebellion and loyalty