Taishan surnames

The 廖 surname

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Translated from the Chinese article, which is the one that is edited (read it in Chinese).

Liao (廖) is one of the surnames of Taishan. According to the Taishan County Gazetteer of Local Lore (《台山县乡土志》), the Liao of Changtang (长塘), Shuibu (水步), came from Zhuji Lane (珠玑巷) in Nanxiong (南雄); there are also Liao living in Chonglou (冲蒌), who have a genealogy handed down.[1][2]

Origin of the surname[edit]

There are various accounts of the origin of the Liao surname. One says it comes from the Ji (己) surname: Shu'an (叔安), a descendant of Zhuanxu (颛顼), was enfeoffed in the Xia dynasty with the state of Liao (飂, an old form of the character 廖) and was called Liao Shu'an (廖叔安); his descendants took the state's name as their clan name, and Liao Shu'an is therefore honored as the founding ancestor of the Liao surname. Another says it comes from the Ji (姬) surname: the descendants of Liao, Earl of Shao (召伯廖), a minister of King Hui of Zhou, took Liao as their surname. Another says it comes from the Yan (偃) surname: descendants of Gaoyao (皋陶) were enfeoffed at Liao (蓼), and their descendants took the state's name as their clan name. Besides these, in the Yuan dynasty Zhang Yuanzi (张元子) of Zhao'an (诏安), Fujian, married into the Liao family as a resident son-in-law, and his descendants took the surname Liao, forming the "Zhang-Liao" (张廖) line. The most common hall name of the Liao is "Wuwei Tang" (武威堂).[3]

Coming to Taishan[edit]

In an article in Xinning Magazine (《新宁杂志》), Huang Renfu (黄仁夫), quoting the Taishan County Gazetteer of Local Lore as given in the book Migrants from Zhuji Lane in the Song and the Agricultural Development of the Pearl River Delta (《宋代珠玑巷迁民与珠江三角洲农业发展》), lists the settlements of the various surnames that came to Taishan from Zhuji Lane in Nanxiong, among them "the Liao of Changtang, Shuibu".[1]

A genealogy catalog lists a Liao Genealogy (《廖氏族谱》) from Chonglou: a handwritten copy of 1986, 16 pages in all, consisting of lineage tables; it records the founding ancestor as Liao Yongji (廖永积), and the clan's members as living scattered in Chonglou, Taishan (the catalog writes it 冲篓乡), Burma and elsewhere.[2]

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

References

  1. Huang Renfu, "The Southward Migration of the People of Zhuji Lane and the Origins of the People of Taishan", Xinning Magazine, 2014, no. 1, Xinning Magazine Office 黄仁夫：「珠玑巷人南迁与台山人的来由」，《新宁杂志》2014年第1期，新宁杂志社
  2. "[Liao Genealogy]" (handwritten copy, 1986), catalog entry, Yunjiapu genealogy website 「[廖氏族谱]」（1986年写本）目录条目，云家谱网
  3. "Liao (surname)", Chinese Wikipedia 「廖姓」，维基百科

Last edited 2026-10-19 06:33 · Written together by this site’s users: anybody signed in can edit it, and every version is kept under History.