Yun (Chinese name)
| Yun | |
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The small seal script character for Yun | |
| Pronunciation |
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| Language(s) | Chinese |
| Origin | |
| Language(s) | Old Chinese |
| Meaning | cloud |
| Other names | |
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Yun (simplified Chinese: 云; traditional Chinese: 雲; pinyin: Yún) is a Chinese surname, ranked 41st in the Song dynasty classic text Hundred Family Surnames.[1]
Distribution
Yun is a rare surname,[2] being the 323rd most common surname in China and shared among 156,000 people as of 2013.[3]
Tumeds
Yun is the surname of many Tümeds, a Chinese-speaking Mongol ethnic group.[4] Some Tumeds had the surname "Yun" during China's Qing Dynasty (1644–1912), and claim even more ancient origins. However, adoption of the surname greatly increased during the 1920s, and especially after the 1949 revolution, which increased Mongols' access to education.[5] Mongolian names in the Mongolian language generally do not contain surnames, so Mongols chose surnames when registering for Chinese elementary school. In those schools, adoption of the Yun surname became a social norm for Tumeds, who are largely endogamous.[5] The most famous Tumed with the surname "Yun" was Ulanhu (Chinese: 云泽; pinyin: Yúnzé), chairman of Inner Mongolia (1947–1966) and Vice President of China (1983–1988). During the 1980s and 1990s, the "Yun family" was identified with the dominant "West Mongol" (Tumed) faction in the Inner Mongolian government. The other two factions were that of the "East Mongols" (Khorchin tribe) and the Inner Mongolian Han.[6] The perceived nepotism among the Yun family in Ulanhu's government was a frequent object of satire by government critics. According to anthropologist Uradyn Bulag,[4]
One story tells that when someone went to the Inner Mongolian government building and shouted, "Lao [senior] Yun!" almost half of the office windows were opened. Realizing his mistake, the person shouted, "Xiao [junior] Yun!"; the other half of the windows then opened.... A similar story is that there were so many Yuns seeking to attend Ulahu's funeral in Beijing that it became difficult to buy train tickets.
Notable people
Historical figures
- Yun Dingxing (云定兴), Sui dynasty general
Modern figures
- Ulanhu (1906–1988), also known as Yun Zheng (云泽), former Vice President of the People's Republic of China (1983–1988)
- Yun Bulong (云布龙; 1937–2000), former Chairman of Inner Mongolia (1998–2000)
- Yun Damian (云大棉; born 1935), CPC politician, member of the 8th and 9th CPPCC National Committees
- Hoon Thien How (云天豪; born 1986), Malaysian badminton player
References
- ↑ "百家姓" [Hundred Family Surnames] (in Chinese). Guoxue. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
- ↑ Yang, Chiu-ying (2009-03-25). "Man on the hunt for rare family names". Taipei Times. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
- ↑ ""百家姓"排行榜刷新"王"取代"李"成第一大姓氏". 新华网 (in Chinese). 2013-04-15.
- 1 2 Bulag, Uradyn Erden (2002). The Mongols at China's Edge: History and the Politics of National Unity. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 213.
- 1 2 Yun, Xiaomei (2004). Irimoto, Takashi; Yamada, Takako, eds. "Ethnic Identity of Tumed Mongols in Inner Mongolia". Senri Ethnological Studies. Circumpolar Ethnicity and Identity. 66: 325–341.
- ↑ Atwood, Christopher (2005-04-11), China's Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law: Does It Protect Minority Rights?, Roundtable with the First Session of the 109th Congress, Congressional-Executive Commission on China, p. 18
External links
- Further reading at Zhongwen Baike (Chinese)
- Etymology of Yun (Chinese)