GGood Chinese Name

Chinese surname · rank 360

初

初 is read as chū.

Pinyin

chū

Script forms

Simplified and traditional 初

Basic meaning

beginning, initial, primary

Five element

Earth

Origin

Time: Tang-layer tradition, 618-907 CE

Place: Chu Mi / Xiong clan tradition, Song textual variant layer, and Manchu Coki Hala changed-surname layer.

Origin note

Chu is a rare surname with several competing source traditions, so this page does not force one origin. One strong family-tradition layer links Chu to the Chu royal Mi/Xiong line and to Xiong Shukan, a son of the early Chu ruler Xiong Yan; later clan accounts say descendants used Chu after flight or concealment. A second textual layer comes from Wang Qi's Ming-period Xuwenxian Tongkao, which says Tang's collateral descendants included Chu. A third layer concerns Qi Wei or Chu Wei in Song-period records, where surname transmission may reflect a real change from Qi or a written-record variant. A fourth layer is a later Manchu changed-surname path from Coki Hala. These are kept as separate traditions, and the ordinary meaning beginning or initial is shown only as character meaning, not as the origin of the surname.

Historical figures

Historical figures to enrich

This surname page is ready for a fame-ranked figure list. Later passes can add generals, poets, rulers, artists, scholars and modern public figures with source links.

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