The 樊 surname

Fan (樊) is one of the Chinese surnames, coming mainly from the "seven clans of the Yin people" (殷民七族) of the Zi (子) surname and from Zhong Shanfu (仲山甫) of the Ji (姬) surname. According to the list in the Taishan County Gazetteer of Local Lore (《台山县乡土志》), the Fan of Baishi (白石), Taishan, are one of the families who came from Zhuji Lane (珠玑巷) in Nanxiong (南雄).^[1][2]

Origin of the surname[edit]

The Fan surname has two main origins. One is the Zi surname. After the Zhou conquered the Shang, Kang Shu (康叔) was enfeoffed in Wei (卫) and put in charge of seven clans among the people left over from Yin-Shang, the Tao (陶), Shi (施), Fan (繁), Qi (锜), Fan (樊), Ji (饥) and Zhongkui (终葵), and the members of the Fan (樊) clan took the clan's name as their surname. The other is the Ji surname. Zhong Shanfu, a minister under King Xuan of Zhou, was enfeoffed at Fan (樊; southwest of today's Jiyuan (济源), Henan) and was also called Fan Zhong (樊仲) or Fan Muzhong (樊穆仲); his descendants took the name of the fief as their clan name.^[1]

Coming to Taishan[edit]

Huang Renfu (黄仁夫), in an article in Xinning Magazine (《新宁杂志》), quotes the Taishan County Gazetteer of Local Lore as cited in the book Song-Dynasty Migrants from Zhuji Lane 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》), listing the settlements of the surnames that came into Taishan from Zhuji Lane in Nanxiong; among them are "the Fan of Baishi".^[2]

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