郭
This morning on the way to work, my brother and i were talking about family heirlooms. See, he and i have a shopping addiction (if i haven't made that blatantly obvious by now) and we were thinking that it'd be cool to have something to hand down to our kids. Ideally it would be something that holds some meaning, which got me thinking about our lineage so i decided to do some research.
Guo (郭) is the 18th most common family name in China and means the wall that surrounds a city. Prince Guo Shu (虢叔) is regarded by our clan as our primogenitor (earliest ancestor) and was the third son of King Ji of Zhou who together with his brother Guo Wen and nephew Guo Wu unified China during the Zhou dynasty.
The character of 虢 is rare in Chinese meaning to hunt and flay a tiger which indicates Guo Shu was a brave warrior. After establishing the Zhou dynasty, King Wu appointed Guo Shu as the Duke of Guo (虢公) which eventually became (郭公) soon after.
Eventually Guo Shu's land was illegally extinguished by the Jin state and his descendents were exiled and populated to Taiyuan and formally adopted the name 郭.
During exile, Guo Ting (郭亭) joined the army of Emperor Liu Bang and was named Marquess of Renqiu after the establishment of the Han Dynasty. After almost 5 centuries, Guo Ting was the first one to acquire noble title again. Since then, talented Guos began to be active in Chinese hitory continuously towards the climax of the glory of Guo Ziyi some 800 years later.
Guo Ziyi aka Prince Zhongwu of Fenyang (汾陽忠武王) was the Tang dynasty general who wiped out the An Lushan Rebellion and participated in expeditions against the Uyghur Khaganate and Tibetan Empire. He was regarded as one of the most powerful Tang generals before and after the Anshi Rebellion. After his death he was immortalized in Chinese mythology as the God of Wealth and Happiness (Lu Star of Fu Lu Shou). Guo Ziyi was the most successful and satisfactory official in China history. His achievements went far beyond Guo Shu and Guo Ting. He had 8 brothers and 8 sons and 8 son-in-laws. 4 of his sons conferred dukes and 5 of his sons and grandsons who married in. All his son-in-laws were top brass of the country. One of his granddaughters became the Empress Dowager Guo (Tang dynasty).
So in summary, like pretty much all Chinese people i can trace my lineage as far back as the Yellow Emperor who initiated Chinese civilization and is essentially the ancestor of all Chinese people. Eventually descended from him is Guo Shu who together with his older brother King Wen of Zhou established the Zhou dynasty. Guo Shu was appointed the Duke of Western Guo but eventually got exiled by the Jin state. Fast forward a couple hundred years and Guo Ting has eventually become Marquess of A Ling which has started a crescendo to Guo Zi Yi the mightiest Tang Dynasty General like ever who eventually got immortalised as the God of Wealth & Happiness.
1) The Duke of Western Guo helped his brother King Wen of Zhou establish the Zhou dynasty (and killed a lot of tigers)
2) Prince General Guo Zi Yi descended from The Duke was regarded as one of the most powerful Tang Generals who eventually became immortalised as the God of Wealth & Happiness (commonly represented by Jupiter).
I'm descended from royalty and a pagan God. We also hunted and flayed tigers. And come from Jupiter?
Bad. Ass.
Guo (郭) is the 18th most common family name in China and means the wall that surrounds a city. Prince Guo Shu (虢叔) is regarded by our clan as our primogenitor (earliest ancestor) and was the third son of King Ji of Zhou who together with his brother Guo Wen and nephew Guo Wu unified China during the Zhou dynasty.
The character of 虢 is rare in Chinese meaning to hunt and flay a tiger which indicates Guo Shu was a brave warrior. After establishing the Zhou dynasty, King Wu appointed Guo Shu as the Duke of Guo (虢公) which eventually became (郭公) soon after.
Eventually Guo Shu's land was illegally extinguished by the Jin state and his descendents were exiled and populated to Taiyuan and formally adopted the name 郭.
During exile, Guo Ting (郭亭) joined the army of Emperor Liu Bang and was named Marquess of Renqiu after the establishment of the Han Dynasty. After almost 5 centuries, Guo Ting was the first one to acquire noble title again. Since then, talented Guos began to be active in Chinese hitory continuously towards the climax of the glory of Guo Ziyi some 800 years later.
Guo Ziyi aka Prince Zhongwu of Fenyang (汾陽忠武王) was the Tang dynasty general who wiped out the An Lushan Rebellion and participated in expeditions against the Uyghur Khaganate and Tibetan Empire. He was regarded as one of the most powerful Tang generals before and after the Anshi Rebellion. After his death he was immortalized in Chinese mythology as the God of Wealth and Happiness (Lu Star of Fu Lu Shou). Guo Ziyi was the most successful and satisfactory official in China history. His achievements went far beyond Guo Shu and Guo Ting. He had 8 brothers and 8 sons and 8 son-in-laws. 4 of his sons conferred dukes and 5 of his sons and grandsons who married in. All his son-in-laws were top brass of the country. One of his granddaughters became the Empress Dowager Guo (Tang dynasty).
So in summary, like pretty much all Chinese people i can trace my lineage as far back as the Yellow Emperor who initiated Chinese civilization and is essentially the ancestor of all Chinese people. Eventually descended from him is Guo Shu who together with his older brother King Wen of Zhou established the Zhou dynasty. Guo Shu was appointed the Duke of Western Guo but eventually got exiled by the Jin state. Fast forward a couple hundred years and Guo Ting has eventually become Marquess of A Ling which has started a crescendo to Guo Zi Yi the mightiest Tang Dynasty General like ever who eventually got immortalised as the God of Wealth & Happiness.
1) The Duke of Western Guo helped his brother King Wen of Zhou establish the Zhou dynasty (and killed a lot of tigers)
2) Prince General Guo Zi Yi descended from The Duke was regarded as one of the most powerful Tang Generals who eventually became immortalised as the God of Wealth & Happiness (commonly represented by Jupiter).
I'm descended from royalty and a pagan God. We also hunted and flayed tigers. And come from Jupiter?
Bad. Ass.
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