Chinese surname · rank 302
危
危 is read as wēi.
wēi
Simplified and traditional 危
dangerous, precarious; high; 12th lunar mansion, determinative star α Aquarii (Sadalmelik)
Earth
Time: Legendary Sanmiao and Sanwei place-name layer, Ji-surname Wei-state/Ru-nan/Jiangnan migration tradition, Song Baijiaxing rank 140 and Song Jiangxi-Fujian distribution, late Tang/Five Dynasties Jiangxi figure layer, Yuan-Ming Wei Su changed-surname layer, and Ming Jiangxi-Fujian distribution; Song textual or Bai Jia Xing layer, 960-1279 CE
Place: Sanmiao regions around Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, and the Yangtze-lake belt; Sanwei near Dunhuang, Gansu; Luo or Luoshui region, Runan, and Jiangnan; Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan, Guangze, Jinxian/Jinxi, and related southern distribution contexts
Origin note
Wei is read wei as a surname. The oldest layer is a traditional place-name and ethnic-origin story: sources say Sanmiao people, described as descendants of Jinyun, lived around Hunan, Hubei, and Jiangxi and were later moved to Sanwei near Dunhuang in Gansu; some descendants used Wei from the Sanwei place name. This is preserved as surname tradition, not treated as hard archaeological proof. A second line is a Ji-surname lineage: descendants connected with the Wei state or royal line are said to have moved from the Luo/Luoshui region to Runan and then Jiangnan. A third layer is changed surname: Ming historian Wei Su, who helped compile dynastic histories and Yuan shi, is recorded by 23mofang as having an ancestor originally surnamed Huang who took Wei. Other summaries mention a Zhen/Xun refuge-name branch. The page keeps Sanmiao place-name, Ji lineage, and changed-surname layers separate.
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.