Interpretation of the Xu Clan Totem 

[Definition] The original meaning of "Xu" (許) is to approve, agree, or promise. The character is composed of "Yan" (言 - speech) and "Wu" (午). "Yan" refers to speaking; thus, characters containing this radical are related to language or discourse. "Wu" originally referred to a pestle; in Oracle Bone Script, "Wu" depicted a pestle used for hulling rice. Consequently, "Wu" also carries extended meanings of conflict or opposition.

[Origin] In ancient times, there was a man of high integrity named Xu You. Legend has it that Emperor Yao offered to abdicate the throne to him, but Xu You fled to Mount Ji (present-day Dengfeng, Henan) to live as a farmer. When Yao later invited him to be the governor of the Nine Provinces, Xu You went to the banks of the Ying River to wash his ears, signifying his refusal to even hear such a worldly proposal. His descendants took his name as their surname, forming the earliest Xu lineage. Additionally, in the early Western Zhou Dynasty, Jiang Wenshu (a descendant of Boyi, who was himself a descendant of the Yan Emperor) was enfeoffed in the land of Xu (present-day Xuchang, Henan) to establish the State of Xu. After the state was destroyed by the State of Chu in the early Warring States period, the people adopted the state's name as their surname, forming another branch of the Xu clan.

• Ancestral Homeland: Xuchang and Dengfeng, Henan

• Prefectural Seats (Junwang) and Hall Names: Gaoyang, Ru'nan; Xi'er Hall (Hall of Ear Washing)

• Current Ranking / Population: 26th / Approx. 8.81 million

• Song Dynasty "Hundred Family Surnames" Rank: 20th

• Extant Genealogical Records: 706 volumes