Surname Overview
The Tu surname mainly originated from the Si surname and shares a common origin with the Xia people; its history spans at least 4,000 years.
Tu Surname
Population reference (not a current census): 845,458Tu / Tu
Origins
Origin in the Tushan Clan
In the early Xia dynasty, the Tushan clan already existed and was also called the Tushan state. Around the middle of the Xia dynasty, it was conquered by the Xin people, after which the Tu surname emerged.
Historical Records
Documentary Attestations
The Eastern Han scholar Ying Shao's Fengsu Tongyi records, “The Tu surname is descended from the Tushan clan.” The Xingshi Zupu Jianshi and the Nanchang Tu genealogy also record that the Tu surname came from the Tushan clan.
Migration and Distribution
Migration to Yuzhang
During the Jin dynasty, Xinwu Hou Tu Qin led his clan across the Yangtze River into Jiangxi and settled in Nanchang. He became the founding ancestor of the Yuzhang Tu clan, after which Jiangxi remained the main center of Tu-surname growth for many centuries.
Historical Distribution
In the Song dynasty, two major Tu-surname population centers formed around Jiangxi and Sichuan. In the Ming dynasty, the surname was mainly distributed in Jiangxi, Fujian, Sichuan, Hubei, and Yunnan, with its population center shifting southward.
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