Chinese surname · rank 316
胥
胥 is read as xū.
xū
Simplified and traditional 胥
all, together, mutually
Earth
Time: Tang-Yu ancient-state tradition, Spring and Autumn Jin Xu Chen lineage, Song distribution in Hunan and nearby regions, Ming distribution in Sichuan-Shandong-Hunan-Hebei-Jiangxi-Fujian, and modern rare-surname summaries; Spring and Autumn tradition, 770-476 BCE
Place: Xu-Ao/Ao around present-day southeast Yanshi, Henan, sometimes summarized in Zhengzhou-area sources; Jin state context in present-day Shanxi; Song distribution in Hunan, Guangxi, Anhui and Jiangxi; Ming distribution in Sichuan, Shandong, Hunan, Hebei, Jiangxi and Fujian; Taiyuan and Langya commandery labels in later summaries
Origin note
Xu is read xu as a surname. Its sources preserve more than one layer. One is an ancient-state tradition: 23mofang says Xu was remembered as an old Tang-Yu-period state at Ao, also called Xu-Ao, with the old place put around present-day southeast Yanshi, Henan; descendants used the state name as a surname. A more concrete Spring and Autumn layer comes from Jin: Xu Chen, also known as Sikong Jizi or Jiu Ji, is treated in surname sources as an ancestor whose descendants used Xu as a lineage name, and the Xu clan is counted among early Jin noble groups. Other summaries preserve a Hesu-shi or Huaxu-type legendary layer, so this page names it as a tradition rather than a verified single origin. Later distribution evidence shows Xu was not only a northwest or Jin surname: Song records place many Xu in Hunan, while Ming records shift the surname toward Sichuan, Shandong, Hunan, Hebei, Jiangxi, and Fujian.
Historical figures
Historical figures to enrich
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