Zhang Surname

Surname Overview

The surname Zhang is pronounced zhāng and ranks 40th in the Song-era edition of Baijiaxing.

Reference: 章氏家谱网 提供10个省区市的233部章氏家谱、章氏族谱

Origins

The Ren Branch

The Ren branch of the Zhang surname originated from the ancient state of Zhang. After it was destroyed by Qi in the early Western Zhou, some Zhang people moved to Ji and later went south with the people of Ji to Ganyu, Jiangsu.

Reference: 章姓起源分布与家谱家族

The Jiang Branch

The Jiang branch arose when descendants of Zhang used the state name as their surname and removed the place-name component to form Zhang; this branch has a history of more than 2,600 years.

Reference: 章姓起源分布与家谱家族

Commanderies and Clan Halls

Commanderies and Hall Names

The Zhang clan later became prominent in Yuzhang, present-day Nanchang, Jiangxi. Genealogical records list hall names including Sijing Hall, Dunmu Hall, Quancheng Hall, Sishi Hall, and Jingyi Qilun Hall.

Reference: 章氏家谱网 提供10个省区市的233部章氏家谱、章氏族谱

Migration and Distribution

Before the Qin dynasty, the Zhang surname was active in Shandong and Hebei. By the Qin and Han periods it had spread to Jiangsu, Anhui, and Henan; during the Sui and Tang periods, its main population had crossed the Yangtze, with Zhejiang and Jiangxi becoming major concentrations and its presence reaching Fujian and Guangdong.

Reference: 章姓起源分布与家谱家族

Notable People

Figures in Genealogies

Genealogies record Zhang Ji, governor of Kangzhou in the Tang dynasty, as the founding ancestor of the Pucheng branch. Seven generations later came Zhang Dexiang, a Northern Song chancellor; his grandson Yuanfang moved to Lan Village in Changhua County, Hangzhou.

Reference: 章氏家谱网 提供10个省区市的233部章氏家谱、章氏族谱