Qing Surname

Origins

Gui-Surnamed Yu Lineage

One branch originated from the Gui-surnamed Yu clan. Yu Qing served as a high minister of Zhao during the Warring States period; some descendants adopted his official title Qing as their surname, while others retained Yu.

Reference: 卿姓源流-卿氏家谱网

Ji-Surnamed Fan Lineage

One branch originated from the Ji-surnamed Fan clan. Zhongshanfu served as a minister under King Xuan of Zhou and was enfeoffed at Fan; some descendants adopted his official title as their surname and revered him as the founding ancestor of the Qing surname.

Reference: 卿姓源流-卿氏家谱网

Zi-Surnamed Song Lineage

One branch originated from the Zi-surnamed Song clan. In the late Qin period, Song Yi bore the title Qingzi Guanjun; after his death, some descendants and clansmen adopted Qing from this ancestral title as their surname to escape persecution.

Reference: 卿姓源流-卿氏家谱网

Ethnic Integration and Surname Changes

Some Qing lineages arose through Sinicized surname changes following ethnic integration. Members of the Manchu Heterana clan of the Bordered Yellow Banner who moved to Chengdu in the early Qing adopted Qing, and the surname also appeared through surname changes among Dong, Bouyei, and Tujia communities.

Reference: 卿姓源流-卿氏家谱网

Migration and Distribution

Geographic Distribution

The Qing surname had a small population in the Ming dynasty and was found mainly in Hunan. Today it is concentrated along the middle and upper Yangtze, with more bearers south than north of the river; Hunan, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, and Guangxi together account for about 91% of the national Qing-surname population.

Reference: 卿姓源流-卿氏家谱网