GGood Chinese Name

Chinese surname · rank 311

阙

阙 is read as qu.

Pinyin

qu

Script forms

Simplified 阙 · Traditional 闕

Basic meaning

watch tower; palace

Five element

Earth

Origin

Time: Tang-Yao Quehou tradition, Spring-and-Autumn and Han Qudang/Queli place-name tradition, Quemen compound-surname layer, Xianbei Queji/Queju layer, Song Baijiaxing rank 359 and Song Henan distribution, Ming Hunan-Jiangsu-Hebei distribution, and modern Taiwan distribution layer; Xia-dynasty tradition, c. 2070-1600 BCE

Place: Qudang/Queli in Qufu, Shandong; possible ancient Que/Quegong state traditions; Xiapi commandery in Jiangsu area; Henan Song distribution; Hunan, Jiangsu, and Hebei Ming distribution; Xianbei northern context; Taiwan Nangang, Songshan, Xizhi, Keelung, Chiayi, Tainan, and Kaohsiung

Origin note

Que is read que as a surname; this row corrects the working pinyin from qu to qu to match the surname-reading sources. The main source-backed layers are place and state names. One traditional layer says there was a Quehou or Que state in the Tang Yao period, with descendants using Que as a state-name surname. A more concrete cultural layer is Quedang or Queli around Qufu, Shandong, associated in later explanations with the neighborhood of Confucius; residents or descendants connected with that place used Que as a surname. A third layer is written-name simplification: the old compound surname Quemen is said to have shortened to Que. Wikipedia also records Xianbei Queji and Queju groups or offices, whose descendants later used Que after entering China. The page keeps state-name, Qufu place-name, Quemen simplification, and Xianbei layers separate.

Historical figures

Historical figures to enrich

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Sources checked