Li (surname)

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李 Lǐ
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李 Lǐ

Li, Lee or Ly is a common transliteration of several Chinese family names. It can be a transliteration of 李 (pinyin Lǐ), the most common Chinese family name, or of other less common family names such as 黎 (Lí); 理 and 里 (both pronounced Lǐ); and 郦 (酈), 栗, 厉 (厲), and 利 (all pronounced Lì). Literally, Li (李) means "son born beneath a plum tree."

The spelling "Li" is derived from the People's Republic of China's pinyin system and is therefore the romanization used most widely in China. However, in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and in many overseas Chinese communities, the anglicised spelling "Lee" is more commonly used when rendering these surnames in Roman letters.

About 7.9 percent of the Chinese population is surnamed Li (李). As of 2002, there were approximately 103 million people in China and 108 million worldwide with this surname. To date, this remains the world's most common surname. The Korean family name Lee and the Vietnamese family name Lý derive from the Chinese name.

The surname Li (黎) is more common in Central China, in South China (including Hong Kong) where it is transliterated as "Lai" (from the Cantonese language), and is one of the four most common surnames among ethnic Vietnamese, which in the Vietnamese language is "Lê."

In Indonesia, the surname may be spelt "Lie."

Contents

[edit] History

According to the Xing Zuan, the Chinese dictionary of surnames, the Li surname has a long history which goes back to Emperor Zhuanzu who was the first Li and lived before 2000 BC.

During the Tang Dynasty about 15 different emperors had the Li surname. Li Yuan was the founder of the Tang Dynasty which lasted from 618 to 906 A.D. In their dynasty, printing and paper money were introduced to China.

A legend about the Li family is that those who are the directly descended from rebel Emperor Zhuanzu have a genetic trait noticeable in their feet. The last toe on each foot would be pointing inward a little rather than being straight like the rest of the toes. This distinguished the "true" Li's from the other families with the name as they were born with perfect feet.

[edit] People with the name Li

[edit] Prominent people with family name 李

(within each category, in alphabetical order by given name)

[edit] Government, politics, military

[edit] Entertainment

[edit] Literature, writing, journalism

[edit] Business

[edit] Scholars, academics, scientists

  • Professor Arthur Li, eminent surgeon and former Vice-Chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, brother of David Li
  • Li, Choh-Ming (1912–1991), Hong Kong economist and educator
  • Li Er, philosopher during Zhou Dynasty
  • Lee, Junlong, scholar
  • Li, Roland, scholar
  • Lee, Stephen W., scholar
  • Tsung-dao Lee, Tsung-dao, physicist
  • Lee, Wen Ho, Chinese-American physicist
  • Lee, Yuan T., chemist

[edit] Other

  • Li Cairong, a woman who lived longer than 100 years
  • Lee Chung Lern, renowned photographer
  • Li Shizhen(李時珍), (1518 - 1593), called one of the greatest physicians and pharmacologists in Chinese history, Ming dynasty
  • Lee, Witness, Christian minister
  • Li Yu, Chinese Olympic speed skater.

[edit] Prominent people with family name 黎

[edit] Prominent people with family name 利

[edit] Fictional characters with family name 李

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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