Chinese surname · rank 304

权 is read as quán.

Pinyin

quán

Script forms

Simplified 权 · Traditional 權

Basic meaning

power, right, authority

Five element

Earth

Origin

Time: Legendary Getian-shi layer; Shang Wuding descendant Quan-state layer; Spring-and-Autumn Chu Wuwang destruction of Quan and Dou Min Quan-yin layer about 2700 years; Qin move to Longxi/Tianshui tradition; Song Hebei-Jiangxi distribution; Ming Jiangsu-Anhui-Henan distribution; tenth-century Goryeo Andong Quan bestowed-surname layer

Place: Quan state near southeast of Dangyang, Hubei; Na near Jingmen, Hubei; Longxi and Tianshui; Hebei, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan; Goryeo Andong and Yecheon Korean Quan contexts

Origin note

Quan is read quan as a surname. The strongest Chinese historical layer is a state-name line: a descendant of Shang king Wuding was enfeoffed at Quan, near today's Dangyang, Hubei; after Chu destroyed Quan, descendants of the old state used Quan as a surname. A related Chu administrative layer is separate: after Chu took Quan and moved its people toward Na, the Chu minister Dou Min served as Quan-yin, and descendants of this Mi-surname line are also said to have used Quan from the office or district name. A much older Getian-shi origin appears in Lu Shi, but that is a legendary-ancestor layer and should be treated cautiously. Later, some Quan families are tied to Qin relocation toward Longxi and Tianshui. Outside the Chinese line, Korean Quan is a distinct layer: sources say Goryeo rewarded the Silla noble Kim Haeng with the surname Quan, forming the Andong Quan tradition. The page keeps Chinese state, Chu-office, legendary, and Korean bestowed-surname layers separate.

Historical figures

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