She (surname)

She (Chinese: 佘; pinyin: Shé; Wade–Giles: She2, Vietnamese: Xà, Korean Hangul: 사, Japanese Hiragana: しゃ) is a Chinese family name.

She (佘) was listed at the 546th place in the Hundred Family Surnames. Romanization of 佘 has many variations, there are "Siah", "Seah", "Sheh", "Sia".

According to chronicles, the Yu Clan are descendant of Yu the Great(大禹)'s third son Han(罕). Yu's wife was Tu San Nyu(涂山女) who gave birth to three son. Oldest son Qi(启)，second son Su(窣) and youngest was Han(罕). Han was bestow the Tu(涂) region，and given the title of King Qin of Yu(余庆王)，thus he and descendant uses the state Yu as surname. Yu(余) is derived from Tu(涂), removing the stroke on the left which represent water.

During the regime of Emperor Huai of Jin in 307 AD, the Yu Clan(余) due to Shi Le's Rebellion(石勒之乱) sought refuge in Muzhou(睦州) which is in current day Zhejiang(浙江). During the reign of Emperor Ming of Jin in 323AD, Yu Feng(余諷) became an official of the Jin Dynasty, and in order to avoid a taboo, he changed his surname from Yu(余) to She(佘). From that point on he was known as She Feng(佘諷), thus making him the Grand Ancestor of the She(佘).

She Feng(佘諷) previously known as Yu Feng(余諷), changes his name during Tai Ning(太宁) Era, is the first She. According to chronicles during Emperor Ming of Jin's time，in the royal court, Yu Feng(余諷) often give advices, and those advices were making the Emperor unhappy, thus commented: "Yu Feng, Yu Feng, you have strong determination. Look at your name，Yu(余) means me, Feng(諷/讽) is jeering(讥讽) at me, your name symbolize that you are my nemesis right?". The Emperor then removed the stroke at the top in Yu(余), bestowing the surname She(佘) which pronounce like snake(蛇). The removing of the stoke on top represent Yu Feng and his descendant will never be successful. She(佘) pronounce like snake(蛇), symbolize trouble comes out of the mouth(祸从口出). Yu Feng went home feeling upset and lost, thinking that since the Emperor treat him like a taboo, he my as well change his name too! Thus became She Wan(佘顽), like an old diehard rock(顽石) that will never hold up their heads. So because of this incident, his descendants followed to have this new surname. And She Wan become the Grand Ancestor of the She Clan. Most chronicles still recognize him as She Feng(佘諷).

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