Origins
Su's original pronunciation has been reconstructed as *s.ŋˤa in Old Chinese, but this had already developed into Su by the time of Middle Chinese. The addition of the grass radical suggests its original meaning was its use describing varieties of the mint perilla, but its general meaning today is as an abbreviation for Suzhou and replacement for a related word meaning "revive".
As with many Chinese surnames, however, there are a variety of separate legends and origins told about the current bearers of the name.
One origin derives from Fan, purported to be the eldest grandson of the six great-great-great-great-grandsons of the Yellow Emperor and said to have lived in Kunwu (昆吾), the northeast region of Yuncheng in Shanxi. During the Xia dynasty, King Huai or Fen gave Yousu (有苏, modern Suling (肅靈?) in Henan) to the rulers of Kunwu as a fief and they established it as the State of Su. This perished in the late Shang dynasty – whose who fall was traditionally blamed upon the beautiful concubine Su Daji, – but its rulers and people took the state's name as their clan name and moved elsewhere.
Another derives from Su Chasheng who was Minister of Justice under King Wu of the Zhou dynasty and revived the former region of Su as his fief, with a new capital city at Wen (modern Wen County in Henan). He is also considered to be the ancestor of the Wen family.
Prior to the Qin Dynasty, the Su clan mainly resided in Henan and Hebei, but, during the Warring States period, one group moved southward into Hubei and Hunan and another west into Shaanxi. Under the Qin and Han, this Shaanxi clan became a prominent and distinguished family while a third group of clans moved east into Shandong.
Another origin was from a Han-era ethnic group in Liaodong, whose family name Wuyuanyousu (烏垣有蘇) was later shortened into Su during the Northern Wei.
Large numbers of Su moved into Sichuan and Fujian during the Tang Dynasty. During the Northern Song, they moved further southward to Guizhou, Guangdong, and Guangxi. Their current relative popularity on Taiwan began following migrations during the Ming and Qing.
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