The 饶 surname

Rao (饶) is one of the surnames of Taishan. Rao ranks 383rd in the Hundred Family Surnames (《百家姓》); it arose in about the Warring States period in North China, later spread from north to south, multiplied and flourished in Jiangxi, and moved on to Fujian, Guangdong and other places. Its ancestral commanderies are Pingyang (平阳) and Linchuan (临川).^[1]

Origin of the surname[edit]

There are several accounts of the origin of the Rao surname: one says that in the Warring States period King Daoxiang of Zhao (赵悼襄王) enfeoffed the Lord of Chang'an (长安君) at Rao (饶, around today's Raoyang, Hebei), and his descendants took the name of the fief as their surname; one says that in the Warring States period a grandee of Qi was enfeoffed at Rao (in today's Shandong), and his descendants took the name of the town as their surname; one derives it from the Gui (妫) surname, as descendants of Shun (舜) who took the name of their state or tribe as their surname; and Rao genealogies also have an account that in the Western Han, people of the Yao (尧) surname changed their surname to Rao to avoid a taboo.^[1]

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