Seek for Surname History (尋找百姓家) is a TV series broadcast by ATV

Asia Television Limited

Asia Television Limited is one of the two free-to-air television broadcasters in Hong Kong, the other being rival Television Broadcasts Limited . It launched in 1957 under the name Rediffusion Television as the first television station in Hong Kong...

 in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 in 2011. Each episode is dedicated to telling some of the legendary stories that belong with the Chinese surname

Chinese surname

Chinese family names have been historically used by Han Chinese and Sinicized Chinese ethnic groups in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and among overseas Chinese communities. In ancient times two types of surnames, family names and clan names , existed.The colloquial expressions laobaixing...

s in the Hundred Family Surnames

Hundred Family Surnames

The Hundred Family Surnames is a classic Chinese text composed of common surnames in ancient China. The book was composed in the early Song Dynasty. It originally contained 411 surnames, but was later expanded to 504. Of these, 444 are single-character surnames, and 60 are double-character surnames...

 ancient text.

Production

The show currently features 26 episodes hosted by Spencer Leung (梁思浩). The content is not limited to just the five big surnames, but also the lesser known names. Many of the stories are legacy stories researched from ancient family trees that go back hundreds to thousands of years. Some of the stories focus on how the surname ended up in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

.

Episode surnames

Episode	Chinese surnames	English	Description
1			Preview pilot episode
2	成	Cheng
3	毛	Mao Mao (surname) Mao is the romanization of several Chinese family names, including common names 毛 Máo, 茅 Māo and some rare names 茆 Máo, 卯 Máo, 貌 Mào etc.毛 originated from Ji , the clan name of Zhou Dynasty... , Mo
4	鄧	Deng Deng (surname) Deng is an East Asian surname. It is a transcription of 邓 or 鄧 . It is transliteted as Dèng in pinyin and Teng in Wade-Giles. In Cantonese, it is Dahng in Yale and Dang6 in Jyutping. In Minnan or Taiwanese, it is Tēng in Pe̍h-ōe-jī... , Tang, Teng
5	李	Li Li (surname) Li is a common transliteration of several Chinese family names, including 李 , the most common Chinese family name, and the Korean family name Lee... , Lee
6	曾	Zeng, Tsang, Tseng
7	胡	Hu Hu (surname) Hu 胡 is a Chinese surname or family name. In 2006, it was the 15th most common surname in China.Some other less-common surnames pronounced Hu include 瓠, 護, 戶, 扈, 虎, 呼, 忽, and 斛.-Words:...
8	張	Zhang Zhang (surname) Zhang is among the most common Chinese surnames. In the 1990 edition of Guinness Book of Records, it was listed as the world's most common surname, with over 100 million people worldwide with this surname. It was also ranked third in the People's Republic of China by the Chinese Academy of... , Chang, Cheung	Cheung Ceoi-lyun (張隨聯) became a Buddhist in Guangdong Guangdong Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...  Qing dynasty Qing Dynasty The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China.... . After his death his body became enshrined in a statue to help villagers gain faith in fighting off a plague Plague -Medicine:* Plague , a specific disease caused by Yersinia pestis. There are three major manifestations:** Bubonic plague** Septicemic plague** Pneumonic plague* An epidemic of infectious disease* A pandemic caused by such a disease... . The temple became successful, but thieves tried to corrupt and invade it. The son of the family had a dream where his ancestor instructed him to create a replica statue to decoy the thieves away. This allowed the family to escape to HK.
9	廖	Liao Liao (surname) Liao is a Chinese surname, most commonly found in Southern China. Statistics show it is among the 100 most common surnames in mainland China.In Cantonese Romanization, one of the most common schemes for transliterating Cantonese, it is read as Liu...
10	林	Lin Lin (surname) Lín Lin is the second most common surname in Taiwan at 9% of the population, second only to Chen. In mainland China , Lin is generally less common.-Name origin:... , Lam
11	鄧	Deng Deng (surname) Deng is an East Asian surname. It is a transcription of 邓 or 鄧 . It is transliteted as Dèng in pinyin and Teng in Wade-Giles. In Cantonese, it is Dahng in Yale and Dang6 in Jyutping. In Minnan or Taiwanese, it is Tēng in Pe̍h-ōe-jī... , Tang, Teng	During the transition from Northern to Southern Song dynasty Song Dynasty The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a... , families of the royalties were being pursued by the Jin army. One of the princess (family name Zhao Zhao (surname) Zhao / Chao or Chiu is a common Chinese family name, ranking as the 7th most common surname in Mainland China. Zhao is the first surname in the famous Hundred Family Surnames – the traditional list of all Chinese surnames – because it was the royal surname of the Song Dynasty when the list was... ) was rescued by a military personnel named Deng Yun-loeng (鄧元亮), who thought she was just a little girl lost. After taking her into his home and raising her, she revealed in her older years that she was really the daughter of Emperor Gaozong of Song Emperor Gaozong of Song Emperor Gaozong , born Zhao Gou, was the tenth emperor of the Song Dynasty of China, and the first emperor of the Southern Song. He reigned from 1127 to 1162. He fled south after the Jurchens overran Kaifeng in the Jingkang Incident, hence the beginning of the Southern Song dynasty 1127–1279... . After her identity was verified, she brought a great deal of wealth to the Deng family.
12	文	Wen Wen (surname) Wen is the Pinyin romanization shared by several different Chinese surnames, including 文 , 温 , 闻 , and 问 .-文 :*Wen Zhong , advisor in the state of Yue*Wen Chou Wen is the Pinyin romanization shared by several different Chinese surnames, including 文 (Wén), 温 (Wēn), 闻 (Wén), and 问 (Wèn).-文...	Related to the biography of Wen Tianxiang Wen Tianxiang Wen Tianxiang , Duke of Xinguo, was a scholar-general in the last years of the Southern Song Dynasty. For his resistance to Kublai Khan's invasion of the Song, and for his refusal to yield to the Yuan Dynasty despite being captured and tortured, he is a popular symbol of patriotism and...

External link

• Official site