Language(s) Chinese | Language(s) Chinese language | |
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Pronunciation Oūyáng (Pinyin)
Au-iông (Pe̍h-ōe-jī) Word/Name geographical place names Derivation Mount Ouyu (now Mount Sheng) and Yang riverbank | ||
Ouyang (simplified Chinese: 欧阳; traditional Chinese: 歐陽; pinyin: Oūyáng also spelled Oyang, O. Yang, O'Yang, Owyang, Au Yong, Auyong, Ah Yong, Auyang, Au Yeung, Au Yeang, Au Yeong, Au Ieong, Ao Ieong, Eoyang, Oyong, O'Young, Auwjong, Ojong, Owyong, Au Duong, Ou Young, Ow Young) is a Chinese surname. It is one of the most common two-character Chinese compound surnames, but is not one of the top two hundred Chinese surnames, as documented by the Language Publication Society, Beijing in 1990. Ouyang constitutes one of the twenty-odd two-character surnames that have survived in modern times.
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History
The Song Dynasty historian Ouyang Xiu traced the Ouyang surname to Ti (蹄, Pinyin: Tí), a prince of Yue, the second son of King Wujiang (無疆). After his state was extinguished by the state of Chu, Ti and his family was living in the south side of the Mount Ouyu (歐余山, currently called Mount Sheng 升山 in Huzhou, Zhejiang). In Classical Chinese, the south side of a mountain or the north bank of a river is called Yang (陽), thus the Ti family was called Ouyang. He was called Marquis of Ouyang Village (歐陽亭侯). Traditionally, Ti's ancestry can be traced through his father Wujiang, the King of Yue, to the semi-legendary Yu the Great 大禹.
Geographical origins
In terms of distribution Ouyangs have mostly been confined to southern China, especially the areas of southern Jiangxi, central Hubei and eastern Henan, with smaller pockets in Guangdong, Sichuan, Hunan and Guangxi.
Daling (大嶺), near Zhongshan City in Guangdong, China has been documented of having an extensive history of the Ouyangs. Family records and family trees have been created there and distributed to family members around the globe, commonly known as the Owyang Genealogy Book (hardbound, blue cover).
Notable clans
The most prominent of the Ouyang clans historically was undoubtedly that of Yongfeng in Jiangxi, which produced a number of scholars who reached prominence in the imperial bureaucracy. Genealogical lineages and family trees have been established for a number of Ouyang clans around China, showing migration patterns from the Song to the Qing dynasty.
Immigration outside of China
There was a large immigration of Ouyangs in the late 19th century and early 20th century to the San Francisco Bay area, Sacramento Delta Area. In summer of 2005, the first extended Ouyang family reunion was held in Locke, near Sacramento. Over 200 Ouyangs attended and included speeches, sharing, family trees and documentation. This group continues to communicate using Ouyang Yahoo! Groups and spans members from across North America and beyond.