周氏图腾释义

【释义】周，密也。古文周字从用、从口。其原义为环绕、沟通，字像水井和水渠，相互连流，形成流水的通道。

【起源】帝喾之子后稷封于邰，其裔孙古公亶父（周太王）为狄所逼，率族人迁徙至陕西岐山下周原，称周族。古公的曾孙姬发攻灭商朝，建立周朝称西周。西周至周平王时，于公元前770年迁都洛阳称东周。周平王有个儿子叫姬烈，被封于汝南，传至第18世孙邕，以周为氏。平王后第24王周赧王时，于公元前256年被秦国所灭，以赧王为首的王族，迁至惮狐（今汝州），以周为氏。

得姓始祖：周赧王姬延　后稷
始 祖 地：陕西岐山周原、河南汝南、汝州
郡望堂号：汝南、陈留；爱莲堂、细柳堂
当今排序／人口：第10位／约2520万
宋版百家姓排序：第5位
现存家谱：1300部

Explanation of the Zhou Clan Totem

Meaning

Zhou (周) means complete or all‑encompassing.

In ancient script, the character 周 is composed of 用 and 口.

Its original meaning relates to encircling and connecting.

The character resembles the image of wells and water channels, flowing into one another and forming a continuous passage for water.

Origin

Hou Ji, son of Emperor Ku, was enfeoffed at Tai, and his descendants became the agricultural clan of the Ji lineage.

His later descendant Gugong Danfu (also known as King Tai of Zhou) was forced by the Di tribes to migrate with his people to Zhouyuan, at the foot of Mount Qi in present‑day Shaanxi. From this point onward, they were known as the Zhou clan.

Gugong Danfu’s great‑grandson Ji Fa overthrew the Shang Dynasty and established the Western Zhou Dynasty.

In 770 BCE, during the reign of King Ping, the capital was moved to Luoyang, marking the beginning of the Eastern Zhou.

King Ping had a son named Ji Lie, who was enfeoffed in Runan. By the time of his 18th‑generation descendant Yong, the family adopted Zhou as their surname.

Later, during the reign of King Nan of Zhou, the 24th king after King Ping, the Zhou royal house was conquered by the State of Qin in 256 BCE. The royal family, led by King Nan, relocated to Danhu (modern Ruzhou), where they continued to use Zhou as their surname.

Ancestral Founders of the Surname

• King Nan of Zhou (Ji Yan)

• Hou Ji

Ancestral Homelands

• Zhouyuan, Qishan, Shaanxi

• Runan, Henan

• Ruzhou, Henan

Prominent Clans / Halls

• Runan, Chenliu

• Ailian Hall, Xiliu Hall

Modern Ranking / Population

• 10th most common surname in China

• Approximately 25.2 million