Xiang / Hsiang
The Xiang surname is widely distributed across China, with a particularly high concentration in Hunan, where it accounts for about 40% of the national Han Xiang-surname population. It is a typical southern surname, originating in the north and flourishing in the south.
The Xiang surname has three stated origins: the Zi, Jiang, and Qi surnames. The Qi branch descends from Emperor Yao; the Zi branch comes from Gongzi Xi, son of Duke Huan of Song, and is now the main Xiang branch; the Jiang branch descends from Emperor Yan.
One account identifies Xiang Fu, son of Duke Huan of Song, as the founding ancestor of the surname. His grandson, or according to another account his great-grandson, Zixu, took the first character of his grandfather Xiang Fu's name as his surname, which was transmitted by later generations as Xiang.
Existing Xiang genealogies record halls such as Guangyu, Kaidi, Danai, Deshao, Shangde, and Mingchen. Some genealogies also record founding migrants and their routes of relocation.
From the pre-Qin period through the Han dynasty, Xiang people mainly lived in Shaanxi, later moving east to Shanxi and south to Henan, Shandong, and Anhui. During the Qin and Han periods they entered Sichuan, Hubei, and Hunan; by the Tang and Song periods, the surname had essentially become a southern surname.
Historical figures with the Xiang surname include Xiang Chong, a Shu Han general of the Three Kingdoms period; Xiang Xiu, one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove in the Eastern Jin; and Xiang Minzhong, a Song dynasty chancellor.
Start with ancestral counties, villages, personal names and dates. Record genealogy titles, volumes, editions and catalog identifiers. A shared surname does not prove a shared lineage; compare branch records.
These catalogs or datasets attest written names, not every origin or lineage claim on this page.
This page includes automatically organized material. Check the references and original family documents.
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