Chinese surname · rank 277
楼
楼 is read as lóu.
lóu
Simplified 楼 · Traditional 樓
building of two or more stories
Earth
Time: Western Zhou Donglou Gong and Qi enfeoffment layer of about 2800 years in 23mofang, Spring-and-Autumn Jin Zhao Ying/Lou Ying layer of about 2600 years, Northern Wei Xiaowen-period Gailou and Helou changed-surname layer, Song Zhejiang-centered distribution layer, and Ming Zhejiang-centered population layer; Xia-dynasty tradition, c. 2070-1600 BCE
Place: Qi around today's Qixian, Henan; Lou fief south of modern Yonghe, Shanxi; Jin state context; Northern Wei Xianbei contexts; Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Henan, Ningbo/Mingzhou/Siming, Shanghai, Guangxi, and Jiangxi distribution contexts
Origin note
Lou is read lu as a surname. It should not be conflated with the separate surname Lou written . The main source-backed line is Si-surname and tied to the Xia royal legacy: in early Zhou tradition, King Wu of Zhou enfeoffed Donglou Gong, a descendant of Xia Shaokang, in Qi, with the old seat around today's Qixian, Henan; descendants from collateral branches serving in other states later used the Lou element of the ancestral title as a surname. A second line is Ying-surname and fief-name based: Zhao Ying, son of the Jin minister Zhao Cui, held a fief at Lou, placed south of modern Yonghe in Shanxi, was called Lou Ying, and some descendants used Lou as a surname. Later sources also record Northern Wei Xianbei compound surnames Gailou and Helou being shortened to Lou during Sinicization. The page keeps Donglou Gong/Qi, Zhao Ying/Lou fief, and Northern Wei changed-surname layers separate.
Historical figures
Historical figures to enrich
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