History
First found in the Spring and Autumn Period of China, the Chancellor of Qin known as Yao Yu, Yu is a typical name in the southern area of China. The place of origin of this name is likely to be in Feng Xiang (鳳翔), Shaanxi to the area of Xian Yang (咸陽). It is first said to appear in the Han Dynasty. The Yu people moved into the county of Xi (歙縣), Anhui. After that, the surname has spread quite well in the south China, but much weaker in the northern China. Many of the Yu moved to southern China, into counties like Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Jiangxi. In the time of Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Yu people have already became a tribe in the prefecture of Xin An (新安郡), Luoyang. Because of the war in the north at that time, people moved to the south, in places like Hunan and Hubei. It was after Tang Dynasty, when the surname finally became popular, and is very famous in the southeast area of China. At this moment, people moved into other places like Fujian and Guangdong. In the later part of the Tang Dynasty, Yu in the northern part became popular too.
According to Chinese legend, Yu is an ancient surname in China. The ancestors of the surname were closely linked with the ancient sage-king named Yu Shun.
When Yu Shun was getting old, he took his initiative to hand over the state power to Xia Yu. And Xia Yu made his son Shang Jun the duke of Yu (it is now in Yucheng, Henan Province) with the founding of Yu kingdom. Later, the descendents of Shang Jun began to take the kingdom as their surname, according to the overseas edition of People¡¯s Daily on Thursday.
Another Yu family was originated from surname Ji. According to history records, Zhou Wu Wang (1,134-1,115BC) overthrown the Shang Dynasty and made many dukes. He made later generations of his second uncle Zhong Yong the Yu kingdom (now in the northeast of Pinglu in Shanxi). Afterwards, the descendents of Zhong Yong bear the name of the kingdom as their surname.
After the surname coming into being, Yu people lived in Kaifeng and Chenliu areas in Henan for a long period of time, becoming big families. After Tang (618-907AD) and Song (960-1127 AD) dynasties, Yu families started to move to Huiji (now in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province).
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