The origin of the surname "Eastern (dōngfāng)" among hundreds of families

416 Dongfang (dōngfāng)

416 Dongfang (dōng fāng)

Looking for the roots

There are two main sources of the compound surname Dongfang. One is from the ancient Fuxi clan. Among the descendants of the Fuxi family, there was a man named Xizhong, who was the master of the East due to his position in the Eight Diagrams, and had been in charge of the Qingyang Order of the East for generations. His descendants took the surname Dongfang and called him Dongfang. The second is from the surname Zhang. Dongfang Shuo's father, named Zhang Yi, died before he was born. His mother, Tian, ??also died three days after he was born, and a neighbor adopted him. Because it was just dawn in the east when he was born, he was named Dongfang Shuo. Dongfang Shuo was an official of Taizhong. He was humorous by nature, and his words were humorous, but he was able to see things clearly and speak out and give advice. His descendants also took Dongfang as their surname, forming another Dongfang surname.

Changes in distribution

In the early days, they lived in Henan and Shaanxi, and later flourished in Shandong. During the Han and Tang Dynasties, there was a certain distribution in Shandong, with Pingyuan County (today's Shandong Pingyuan) and Jinan County (today's Longshan Village, Zhangqiu City, Shandong Province) as the county commanders. After the Song Dynasty, the Dongfang family’s footprints have been hard to find. Nowadays, it can be seen occasionally in Beijing, Shanxi, Shandong, Taiwan and other places.

A gathering of celebrities

Dongfang Shuo: Minister and writer of the Western Han Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Dongfang Shuo wrote a letter recommending himself, claiming to be erudite and capable, with outstanding talent and appearance, and could be a minister. Emperor Wu was surprised when he saw it, so he appointed him to an official position, and later he was promoted to Taizhong doctor. He was humorous, witty, and a little cynical. People in the palace called him a "madman". However, he dared to give direct advice on some major issues, and his opinions often hit the mark. He visited the court, had good literary accomplishments, and was well versed in worldly affairs. He often told the emperor by telling jokes, and was deeply appreciated by people. Dongfang Shuo wrote a lot in his life, which was compiled by later generations into "Dongfang Taizhong Collection".

Dongfang Qiu: Historian and poet in the Tang Dynasty, Empress Wu of the Tang Dynasty served as Zuo Shi, and was a poet. When Empress Wu visited Longmen in Luonan, she ordered her attendants to compose poems. Dongfang Qiu was the first to complete the poem, and Empress Wu gave him a brocade robe.

Dongfang Xian: a bachelor of the Tang Dynasty, one of the eighteen bachelors of Shexiang Pavilion in Kaiyuan.