GGood Chinese Name

Chinese surname · rank 6

杨

杨 is read as yáng.

Pinyin

yáng

Script forms

Simplified 杨 · Traditional 楊

Basic meaning

poplar; willow-like tree

Five element

Wood

Origin

Time: Western Zhou to Spring and Autumn tradition; Western Zhou tradition, 1046-771 BCE

Place: Yang fiefs or states in today's Shanxi area

Origin note

Yang has several origin traditions. A mainstream line links it to the Zhou royal Ji surname and fiefs or states named Yang in the area of today's Shanxi, especially Hongdong and nearby traditions. Later accounts also note other Yang lines and surname changes, so the page treats this as a major tradition rather than a single exclusive origin.

Historical figures

杨坚 (Yang Jian)

541-604 CE · founder of the Sui dynasty

Emperor Wen of Sui, remembered for reunifying China after the Northern and Southern dynasties period.

杨业 (Yang Ye)

died 986 CE · Northern Song general

A general whose story became central to the Yang-family-generals tradition in later Chinese culture.

Sources checked