The 丘 surname

Qiu (丘) is one of the Chinese surnames, sharing its origin with the Qiu (邱) surname. In Taishan, the Qiu (丘) are found among the Hakka (客家) of Chixi Town (赤溪镇).^[1]

Origin of the surname[edit]

The main source of the Qiu surname is the Jiang (姜) surname: early in the Zhou, Jiang Taigong (姜太公) was enfeoffed with Qi (齐) and made Yingqiu (营丘) his capital, and some of his descendants took "Qiu" (丘) as their surname. There are also accounts that it comes from the Si (姒) surname, that it was shortened from compound surnames such as Guanqiu (毌丘), and that the Qiudun (丘敦) clan of the Xianbei of the Northern Wei changed their surname to it. From the 3rd year of Yongzheng of the Qing (1725), to avoid writing the personal name of Confucius, many of the Qiu (丘) surname changed its writing to 邱, and since then the two surnames have existed side by side.^[2] The ancestral commandery of the Qiu is Henan Commandery (河南郡), and their hall names include Henan Tang (河南堂).^[1]

Coming to Taishan[edit]

Surname Culture of Chixi (《赤溪姓氏文化》), compiled by the Taishan Chixi Hakka Culture Research Association (台山市赤溪客家文化研究会), lists the Qiu (丘) and the Qiu (邱) separately among the surnames of the people of Chixi, and says the Hakka forebears of Chixi mostly came from Huiyang (惠阳), Jiaying Prefecture (嘉应州), Chaozhou (潮州) and other places in the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods of the Qing.^[1]

How the Qiu came to Taishan and where they live is yet to be added. Family members who know more are welcome to edit this article.