The origin of the surname Hao

The surname Hao originated from the surname Jiang, which came from the surname Shennong of Emperor Yan, also known as the surname Hao Gu (also known as the surname Hao or Hexu).

According to legend, Emperor Yan’s Shennong clan, also called Hao Gu clan, was Taihao’s assistant minister and helped Taihao manage the tribe. In the article "General Preface to the Origin of the Hao Family in Danyang" written by Hao Yi, who was the governor of Jiangxia County during the reign of Emperor Liang Wu of the Southern Dynasties, it is said: "The Hao family came from Hexu and was an assistant minister of Taihao, called Hao Sheng." "The original surname is, In the reign of Emperor Yi of Shang Dynasty, his descendants first granted Dayuan to Hao and made him a state. Later, they took it as their surname, and all Hao followed him. By the Spring and Autumn Period, Hao was a small country. On weekends, he moved south to Hanzhong, Bashu."

The Hexu family, also known as the Huaxu family, belongs to the Huaxu family of Fuxi's mother and a branch of the Feng surname. In the late Shang Dynasty, the Hao Gu family had a grandson named Hao Guqi, who was granted the title of Hao Yi by Shang King Wu Yi. Therefore, the descendants of Hao Guqi took the name of the fiefdom as their surname, and were also called the Hao family. At the end of the Yin and Shang Dynasties, Haoyi was occupied by Gu Gong Danfu, the leader of the Zhou clan surnamed Ji, and it became the place where the Zhou clan lived.

The ancient Duke and Danfu was the King of Zhou. King Tai of Zhou led his people to live in Hao Yi, and the surrounding Beidi people often invaded. In order to avoid bloody conflicts, King Tai of Zhou led his people to leave Hao Yi and migrate southwest to the foot of Qishan Mountain. They began to gradually grow in the Wei River Plain area. It was passed down to Jichang, the grandson of King Tai of Zhou, who became the Xibohou among the four princes of the Yin and Shang Dynasties. Finally, his son King Wu of Zhou successfully overthrew the rule of the Yin and Shang Dynasty and established the Western Zhou Dynasty. King Cheng of Zhou granted his younger brother Shu Yu to the Jin Dynasty. country, Haoyi belongs to the Marquis of Jin.

Historical distribution and migration of the Hao surname

In the pre-Qin period, the Hao people were active in Shaanxi, then moved north to Shanxi and Inner Mongolia, east to Hebei, and further east to the Jiaodong Peninsula. During the Han and Jin Dynasties, North China and Northeast China were the main areas of activity. Before the Jin Dynasty, a group of people immigrated south to Anhui. During the Sui, Tang and Song dynasties, the Hao surname spread from Henan, Shandong and other places to Sichuan and Jiangnan. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Hao surname was more widely distributed in Jiangnan, but the main force of the Hao surname was still in the north.

During the Song Dynasty, there were about 150,000 people with the surname Hao, accounting for about 0.19 of the country's population, ranking 88th. The largest province with the surname Hao is Shanxi, accounting for approximately 48% of the total population with the surname Hao in the country. The distribution in the country is mainly concentrated in Shanxi and Sichuan. These two provinces with the Hao surname account for about 60% of the total population of the Hao surname, followed by Henan, Anhui, Shaanxi, Hebei, Hubei and other five provinces. The Hao surname across the country is mainly concentrated in Shaanxi, Sichuan, Shanxi and Henan regions.

During the Ming Dynasty, there were about 140,000 people with the surname Hao, accounting for about 0.15 of the country's population, ranking 108th. During the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, the population of the Hao surname did not increase. Almost all the surnames whose main force was in the north were harmed by the war, and the Hao surname was no exception. The distribution in the country is mainly concentrated in Shanxi, Shandong, and Hebei. These three provinces with the Hao surname account for about 73% of the total population of the Hao surname, followed by Shaanxi and Henan, with another 14% concentrated in these two provinces. Shanxi is still the largest province with Hao surname, accounting for about 38% of the total population of Hao surname.