GGood Chinese Name

Chinese surname · rank 131

毕

毕 is read as bì.

Pinyin

bì

Script forms

Simplified 毕 · Traditional 畢

Basic meaning

finish; complete; net

Five element

Water

Origin

Time: Shang Bi-fang layer; Western Zhou Bi fief tradition; Shang tradition, c. 1600-1046 BCE

Place: Bi fief near present-day Xianyang/Shaanxi in the main Zhou tradition; earlier Bi-fang and later secondary layers treated separately

Origin note

The main Bi surname tradition is a Western Zhou fief-name account. Modern Bi lineages often honor Bi Gong Gao, a son of King Wen of Zhou, as the surname ancestor after he was enfeoffed at Bi near present-day Xianyang. The source tradition also notes that Bi was not just a later surname label: Bi-fang appears as an important Shang-period polity in oracle-bone contexts before the Zhou enfeoffment story. Later layers include minority surname changes and a western-region Bi state account, so the page presents Bi as a fief/state-name surname with additional secondary sources rather than a single unexplained place name.

Historical figures

毕昇 (Bi Sheng)

11th century CE · inventor

Traditionally credited with movable type printing in the Song period.

毕沅 (Bi Yuan)

1730-1797 CE · Qing scholar and official

A Qing scholar-official known for historical scholarship.

Sources checked

  • 23mofang surname library: - Bi Gong Gao, Western Zhou Bi fief, Shang Bi-fang, and secondary sources
  • Wikipedia: - Bi surname origin from Bi Gong Gao and the Bi fief near Xianyang
  • Wikipedia: - Bi state tradition, Bi Gong Gao, succession, and later Bi Wan/Wei connection
  • Han Dian: - basic character meaning and surname listing