Bai Jia Xing compound surname #25
钟离
钟离 is read as Zhōnglí. It is one of the 60 compound surnames in the expanded Bai Jia Xing sequence.
Pinyin
Zhōnglí
Script forms
Simplified 钟离 · Traditional 鈡離
Meaning
place or state-name surname from Zhongli
Five element
Earth
Origin
Time: Spring and Autumn to Chu-era traditions, 770-223 BCE
Place: Zhongli in the Huai River region, Anhui
Origin
钟离 is usually explained as a place or state-name surname. One tradition links it to the Ying-line Zhongli state later destroyed by Chu; another connects it with Song descendants who held a Zhongli estate.
Name meaning
The compound preserves the fuller old place-name behind later Zhong-family traditions. Zhongli Quan gives it a Daoist legendary flavor.
Historical figures
钟离权
Zhongli Quan is one of the Eight Immortals, giving Zhongli a Daoist and legendary flavor.