Chinese · east Asia

Han

the name of the ancient state of Han

韩/韓

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The state of Han

The Dictionary of American Family Names links 韓 to the Han state, established during the Warring States period and conquered by Qin in 230 BCE. It also records a fief-name tradition and an account involving a Xianbei family that adopted Han.

The Han Liu account involving the Yellow Emperor belongs to legendary ancestry. It should not be presented as a documented pedigree for present-day families.

Which Han?

This entry covers Mandarin Hán written 韩/韓. Hon and Hang occur as alternative spellings. 寒 and 汉/漢 are separate Chinese surnames also romanized Han; the Korean surname written 한/韓 has its own clan traditions.

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