Chinese surname · rank 295
奚
奚 is read as xī.
xī
Simplified and traditional 奚
where what how why; servant
Earth
Time: Xia Xizhong chariot-official tradition, Spring-and-Autumn Huang-state Xi settlement layer, Northern Wei Xianbei sinicization layer, Song Baijiaxing rank 45 and Song Anhui-Hebei-Zhejiang distribution, Ming Jiangsu-centered distribution; Xia-dynasty tradition, c. 2070-1600 BCE
Place: Xi place in Xue near Tengzhou/Zaozhuang, Shandong; Pi/Pizhou-Jiangsu or Weishan-Shandong tradition; Huang-state Xi settlement near Huangchuan, Henan; Northern Wei Central Plains sinicization context; Kumo Xi area around Raole water/Xilamulun River; Anhui, Hebei, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hubei, Shandong, Shanghai, Guangxi, Chongqing, and Henan commandery contexts
Origin note
Xi is read xi as a surname. The main Han-source layer is the Ren-surname Xizhong tradition: Xizhong, remembered as a chariot official or vehicle innovator in the Xia period, was connected with the Xi place in Xue, around today's Tengzhou in Shandong, and later with Pi near today's Pizhou/Jiangsu or Weishan/Shandong tradition; descendants used Xi as a surname or state/fief name. A second Han layer comes from the Ying-surname Huang-state tradition: Xi was an old settlement of Huang near today's Huangchuan, Henan, and descendants of a Huang-state branch used Xi. Northern and ethnic layers are separate: Wei Shu Guanshi Zhi records Xianbei compound surnames such as Boxi and Daxi that were changed to Xi during Northern Wei sinicization, and Kumo Xi/Xi tribal-name traditions are also recorded. The page keeps ancestor-office, fief/state-name, and ethnic changed-surname layers separate.
Historical figures
Historical figures to enrich
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