Language(s) Chinese, Korean Meaning flourishing, blood red | Language(s) Chinese | |
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Pronunciation Yīn (Pinyin)
In (Pe̍h-ōe-jī) Derivation Name of the Yin Dynasty Variant(s) In (Hokkien, Sino-Japanese)
Heung (Teochew)
Eun (Yoon) (殷, 은 | ||
History
The surname Yīn can date to the fall of the Yin (Shang) Dynasty in 1046 BCE. After the dynasty's collapse, surviving Yin family members collectively changed their surname from 子 (pinyin: zǐ; Wade-Giles: tzu) (the Royal surname) to the name of their fallen capital and country, Yin (殷). The family remained members of the aristocratic class. They often provided administrative services to the Zhou Dynasty who succeeded them. Zhou has been considered to be the last emperor of the Yin era. Viscount of Wei (Wei Zi 微子), brother of the last king of Yin, was given the territory around the old Shang capital and established the State of Song (宋國). Rites for the Shang (Yin) kings continued to 286 BCE.
The surname is still found in northern and northeastern China. There is a diaspora in the area south of the Yangtze River near the Wu region of China, and after the time of the Qing Dynasty, immigration to Taiwan and Southeast Asia. Yin settlements are found south-west of Tonghui in Gansu Province, in Shandong Province and in the Pearl River Delta area.