Cui (surname)


Cui, alternatively spelled Tsui or Tsway, is one of the 100 most common surnames in China, with around 0.28% of the Chinese population having the surname. It is also one of the most common surnames in Korea, with around 4.7% of the population having the surname in South Korea.
In China, Cui is commonly found in Shandong and Henan, as well as provinces in the north-east and other areas of China, such as Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Hebei, Jiangsu, Shanxi, and Jilin. It is romanized as Chui in Hong Kong, Choi in Macao and Malaysia, Choi in Korean, Thôi in Vietnamese and Tsoi in Cyrillic.

Origin

One origin of the surname came from descendants of someone who originally held the Jiang surname in the state of Qi, founded by Jiang Ziya. A grandson of Jiang Ziya named Jizi, an heir apparent, chose to relinquish his claim to the throne in favour of his brother Shuyi, and went to live in the Cui estate. His descendants later adopted Cui as their surname.
During the Tang dynasty the Li family of Zhaojun, the Cui family of Boling, the Cui family of Qinghe, the Lu family of Fanyang, the Zheng family of Xingyang, the Wang family of Taiyuan, and the Li family of Longxi were the seven noble families between whom marriage was banned by law. Moriya Mitsuo wrote a history of the Later Han-Tang period of the Taiyuan Wang. Among the strongest families was the Taiyuan Wang. The prohibition on marriage between the clans issued in 659 by the Gaozong Emperor was flouted by the seven families since a woman of the Boling Cui married a member of the Taiyuan Wang, giving birth to the poet Wang Wei. He was the son of Wang Chulian who in turn was the son of Wang Zhou. The marriages between the families were performed clandestinely after the prohibition was implemented on the seven families by Gaozong. Their status as "Seven Great surnames" became known during Gaozong's rule.
The surname is one of the five surnames, now the most common surnames in Korea, closely associated with the six villages that formed the earliest state of Silla.
Many non-Han Chinese groups adopted the surname Cui. During the Qing Dynasty, the Manchu clans Cuigiya Hala and Cuimulu Hala simplified their names to Cui. The Manchu Cuigiya 崔佳氏 clan claimed that a Han Chinese founded their clan. A Mongol clan Cuijuk Hala also adopted this surname during the Qing Dynasty. The surname may also be found amongst the Tujia people in Hunan, the Yi people in Yunnan, as well as the Mongols and Hui people.

List of notable people

Historical