Chinese surname · rank 329
和
和 is read as hé.
hé
Simplified and traditional 和
harmony, peace; peaceful, calm; to blend or agree
Earth
Time: Spring and Autumn tradition, 770-476 BCE
Place: Xihe / Chongli-Zhurong transmitted lineage; Song-state Zi He / Song Mu Gong ancestor-name layer; Yunnan, Henan, Hebei and other modern distribution; Northern-Southern dynasties changed-surname layer noted by surname library sources
Origin note
和 as a surname should not be reduced to the everyday meaning harmony. One traditional layer derives it from Xihe, associated with Chongli/Zhurong-descendant lore and the ancient office or function of managing seasons and celestial order; descendants are said to have used the He element as a surname. A second layer is an ancestor-name tradition from Song: Zi He, younger brother of Song Xuan Gong and later Song Mu Gong, is cited as an ancestor whose branch descendants used He. Surname-library material also notes that some He lines came through outside-lineage or ethnic changed-surname processes, especially around the Northern and Southern dynasties. This page keeps the source traditions separate and treats the harmony meaning only as a character meaning.
Historical figures
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