Is a Chiu a Chiu?

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The last name Chiu (Qiu 1 - #151 in the Hundred Families Surnames) can be traced back around 3,120 years. Literally translated, the name means "a small hill, a mound", colloquially it means soldier "bing" without both legs.

The surname Qiu originated in an area referred to during the Han Dynasty (漢朝 206BC to 220AD) as the He Nan prefecture (河南郡). The present day location of He Nan prefecture is in an area about 30 kilometers northeast of the city of Luo Yang (洛陽 112.4 degree East and 34.6 degree North, on the world map) in Henan province (河南省).

In 1122BC Zhou King Wu (周武王), destroyed the Shang Dynasty (商朝1783BC to 1122BC) and established the Zhou Dynasty (周朝 1134BC to 256BC). Jiang Zi Ya, (姜子牙), the commander-in-chief of the Zhou (周) armed forces, was subsequently rewarded by Zhou King Wu with the hereditary title of Hou (侯) or Marquis. Zhou King Wu died in 1116BC and was succeeded by his eldest son Ji Song (姬誦) who was crowned as Zhou King Cheng (周成王).

In 1112BC Zhou King Cheng gave General Jiang Zi Ya the authority to rule a large district called Ying Qiu (營丘 located in present day Dong Le county 東樂縣 in Shandong province 山東省) which was renamed the State of Qi (齊國). Jiang Zi Ya was then referred to in Chinese history as Qi Da Gong (齊大公), the founder of the State of Qi.

Six generations after Jiang Zi Ya, one of his descendants, Jiang Jing (姜靜), became the ruler of Qi. Jiang Jing moved his capital from Ying Qiu to Bo Gu (薄姑 in the present day of Lin Zi county 臨淄縣 in Shandong province). Some of the descendants of Jiang Zi Ya adopted QIU (丘) as their surname in remembrance of the nostalgia old capital.

2,800 years later, during the Qing Dynasty (清朝 1644AD to 1911AD), Ai-Xin-Jue-Luo Yun Zhen (愛-新-覺-羅 允禎) was crowned Emperor Yong Zheng (雍正皇帝) who reigned until his assassinated in1735AD. Emperor Yong Zheng was obsessed with Confucianism. The surname of Confucius was Kong (孔) and his name was Qiu (丘). Emperor Yong Zheng believed that Confucius was a sacred sage and it was blasphemous for people to use his name Qiu as their surname. So in 1726AD he issued an edict forbidding people to use the character Qiu as their surname. Emperor Yong Zheng ordered that a radical of Yi (邑) or a big ear should be added to the right side of Qiu (丘). Ultimately the modified character became Qiu (邱). From then on surname Qiu (丘) disappeared during the Qing Dynasty.

After Dr Sun Yat-Sen (孫逸仙) had overthrown the Qing Dynasty and established the Republic of China in 1912AD, some of the people with Qiu (邱) as their surname reverted back to the ancient surname Qiu (丘), but many could not be bothered to change.

The couplet for surname Qiu is,

吳興詩人領袖
洛陽武侯將軍

The riddle of surname QIU is:
"I am a little soldier without the two legs, but I have a big right ear".

So now you know, all Qiu family members are descended from Jiang.

*Much of this information is borrowed from Yoon-Ngan Chung, and his writings on the "The Hundred Families Surnames".