Liang (surname)

Liang (梁)
Origin
Meaning	"a beam", "a bridge", or "an elevation", or "a mast"
Other names
Variant(s)	Leung, Leong, Lyang, Yang

Liang (Romanization used in China, Chinese: 梁) is a surname common in East Asia. Meaning "a beam", "a bridge", or "an elevation", or "a mast",^[1] the surname is often transliterated as Leung (in Hong Kong) or Leong (in Macau, Malaysia, and Singapore) according to its Cantonese pronunciation, or Neo / Nio / Niu (Hokkien, Teochew, Hainan). To Chinese Indonesians, it is known as Liang or Nio. It is also common in Korea, where it is pronounced Yang 양 . In Vietnam, it's pronounced as Lương.

History

The first Liang was Liang Kang Hou who was the ruler of the State of Liang, in what is now Shaanxi Province in the northwestern part of China. The State of Liang existed during the Zhou Dynasty of 1027 BC to 221 BC. The descendants of Liang Kang Hou retained the name Liang as their surname in memory of the Liang state when it was annexed by the neighboring State of Qin in 641 BC.

During the Eastern Han period, a time when the Han Dynasty was in chaos and decline, a power struggle ensued between three rival groups, the powerful eunuchs, the cliques of officials and the consort families of which the Liang was one. This was largely due to the fact that starting in 88 AD, minors were placed on the throne and hence effective control of the Dynasty was in the hands of Regents. There were three successive empresses starting with Liang Na, Liang Ji and Liang Mengnu.

According to Witold Rodziński's The Walled Kingdom (1984), "the Liang family, by providing three empresses, became the effective ruler of the country by the middle of the second century, and its members accumulated a vast number of key posts. However, its rivals, the eunuchs, were able, due to their influence on the new emperor, to bring about its downfall, and the whole Liang clan was reduced in 159AD."

In 159AD a eunuch gang in the service of Emperor Huan of Han slaughtered relatives of the Empress Dowager Liang, effectively bringing an end to the Imperial aspirations of the Liang family.

Notable people with the surname 梁

Chinese

• Alan Leong, Senior Counsel* and member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong
• Antony Leung, banker and former Financial Secretary of Hong Kong
• Bryan Leung Hong Kong martial arts actor and director
• CY Leung The third Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
• Edmond Leung 梁漢文, Hong Kong Singer, actor and a quarter of Big Four and a finalist of the 8th annual New Talent Singing Awards
• Edwaard Liang, Taiwanese-born American choreographer, ballet dancer with Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company and former soloist with New York City Ballet
• Elsie Leung, solicitor and Secretary for Justice of Hong Kong
• Gigi Leung, Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress
• Fish Leong, Malaysian-born Mandopop singer
• Isabella Leong, Hong Kong-based Macanese actress and former singer
• Katie Leung, Scottish film, television and stage actress
• Ken Leung, American film and television actor
• Lawrence Leung, Australian comedian, writer and director
• Lawrence Liang, Indian legal researcher and lawyer
• Lei Liang, Chinese-born American composer
• Martin Leung, American pianist
• Leung Jan, Wing Chun practitioner and Chinese herbal doctor from Foshan
• Leung Kwok-hung, Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong
• Liang Guanglie, Minister of National Defense in the People's Republic of China and serves as a general in the People's Liberation Army of China
• Liang May Seen, first woman of Chinese descent to live in Minnesota, community leader in Minneapolis
• Liang Qichao, Chinese scholar, philosopher, journalist and reformist
• Liang Shih-Chiu, (1903–1987), Chinese-born Taiwanese educator, writer, translator, literary theorist and lexicographer
• Liang Wengen, founder and main shareholder of Sany Group and one of the wealthiest men in China
• Toby Leung, Hong Kong television actress; daughter of Tommy Leung, deputy chief director of drama at TVB
• Tony Leung (Leung Chiu Wai), Hong Kong actor and singer
• Tony Leung (Leung Ka Fai), Hong Kong actor
• Liang Xiaosheng, Chinese novelist and screenwriter

Filipino

• Ronnie Liang, Filipino singer

Vietnamese

• Luong Kim Dinh, (15 June 1914 - 25 March 1997) was a Vietnamese catholic priest, scholar and philosopher
• Kathleen Luong, Vietnamese American actress and model
• Luong Bich Huu, Vietnamese singer

Korean

• See Yang (Korean surname) for a more detailed list of famous Korean people with the last name Yang.

References