ok, onto a slightly different topic: surnames
姓.
the top 10 surnames with meanings and origins according to the Hundred Family Surnames 百家姓 (bai jia xing):
1.
王 (wáng) - "King" (a title that became a surname)
origins: a royal prince of the Zhou dynasty was demoted, but because he was of royal descent, his descendants were allowed to use his former rank/title as a surname.
wuxia characters with this surname include: wang chongyang 王重陽, wang yuyan 王語嫣, wang lianhua 王憐花
2.
李 (lǐ) - "Plum" (the family name of the rulers of the Tang dynasty)
origins: the original surname was 理 (li), after the rank/title of an ancestor working for the emperor-sage yao, but because of persecution by the last emperor of the Shang dynasty, the family fled and settled in a new place, where they survived off plum trees. adopted the homophonic 李 as their new surname.
wuxia characters with this surname include: li xunhuan 李尋歡, li mochou 李莫愁, li hongxiu 李紅袖
3.
張 (zhāng) - "Great archer"; "extend, stretch"
origins: the yellow emperor's grandson invented the bow and arrow, so his descendants had this surname created for their use.
wuxia characters with this surname include: zhang wuji 張無忌, zhang danfeng 張丹楓
4.
劉 (liú) - "To destroy" (the family name of the rulers of the Han dynasty)
origins: descendants of emperor yao who settled in state of Liu acquired its name as their surname.
wuxia characters with this surname include: liu zhengfeng 劉正風
5.
陳 (chén) - "Exhibit"; the name of an ancient state (therefore a place name becoming a surname)
origins: descendants of the governor of Zhou vassal state of Chen acquired the name as their surname.
wuxia characters with this surname include: chen jialuo 陳家洛, chen jinnan 陳近南
6.
楊 (yáng) - "Poplar"
origins: a royal prince of the Zhou dynasty was given a title that got turned into the family surname.
wuxia characters with this surname include: yan guo 楊過, yang yuncong 楊雲驄
7.
黃 (huáng) - "Yellow" (more popular as a surname in southern china; 王 (wang) is more popular in northern china)
origins: descendants of the governor of the Zhou vassal state of Huang used it as a surname (spring and autumn period of eastern zhou).
wuxia characters with this surname include: huang rong 黃蓉
8.
趙 (zhào) - adopted from the ancient state of Zhao (the family name of the rulers of the Song dynasty)
origins: descendants of the governor of the Zhou vassal state of Zhao used it as a surname (spring and autumn period of eastern zhou).
wuxia characters with this surname include: zhao min 趙敏, zhao zhijing 趙志敬
9.
吳 (wú) - adopted from the ancient state of Wu
origins: descendants of the governor of the Zhou vassal state of Wu used it as a surname (western zhou).
wuxia characters with this surname include: wu sangui 吴三桂 (historical figure)
10.
周 (zhōu) - "circumference"
origins: descendants of a general of the yellow emperor named zhou chang used the first character of his name as their surname (few people had surnames back then; just personal names).
wuxia characters with this surname include: zhou zhiruo 周芷若, zhou botong 周伯通