Yuan (surname)
|
The character "Yuan", in small seal style, circa 2nd century. |
(袁) is a
Chinese surname ranked 37th in
China by population.
[Chinese surnames pronounced "yuan" which still exist include: 袁, 元, 渊, 圆, 源, 遠, 苑, 原, 院, 冤, 垣. Of these, only the first is ranked in the top 100 of Chinese surnames in terms of population. In modern times, the others have declined to less than 0.10% of the total Chinese population. For a discussion of surname extinction, see Galton-Watson process.] In
Standard Mandarin, the surname is
transliterated "Yuán" (
pinyin) or "Yüan" (
Wade-Giles). Regional variants include "Yeu" (
Shanghainese), "Yuen" (
Cantonese), "Oan" (
Min Nan), "Won" (
Korean), and "Viên" (
Vietnamese).
[Wade-Giles transliteration with tone: "Yüen2". Shanghainese transliterated by Chicago Romanization; Standard Cantonese by Hong Kong Government Cantonese Romanisation; Min Nan by Pe̍h-o"-jī; Korean by Revised Romanization.] Pronunciation differs widely from region to region.
[Regional pronunciations according to International Phonetic Alphabet: Beijing:[yan35]; Jinan: [yã42]; Xi'an: [yã24]; Taiyuan: [yẽ11]; Wuhan: [yãn213]; Chengdu: [yan31]; Yangzhou: [yɪ̃34]; Suzhou: [iø24]; Wenzhou: [ɦy31]; Changsha: [yẽ13]; Shuangfeng: [uĩ23]; Nanchang: [y"n45]; Meixian: [jan11]; Guangzhou: [jyn21]; Xiamen: [uan24]; Chaozhou:[ueŋ55]; Fuzhou: [u"ŋ52]; Shanghai: [yø13]. See Dylan W. H. Sung, The Dialects of China. Retrieved 17 Nov. 2005.]The surname originated from a noble family of the ancient state of
Chen, in what is now eastern
Henan province. The written form of the
character took its current standardised form around the 1st century. During the
Han Dynasty, it was associated with the powerful Yuan
clan of
Ru'nan and later during
Jin and
Southern Dynasties, with the Yuan clan of Chen.
Historically, the name has been fast growing amongst
Han Chinese, and has also been taken up by various non-Chinese ethnic groups. The surname is now held by more than 6.5 million people worldwide, and makes up 0.54% of the population of
mainland China. Although growth has tapered off in the past six centuries, the Yuan name is still relatively widespread throughout China, as well as among
overseas Chinese, with heaviest per capita concentrations in the
Yangtze Delta region of central coastal China.
Because the Yangtze Delta region has historically exhibited high clan consciousness, there exist a large number of Yuan
genealogies, most of which are now held in public institutions. Renewed interest in ancestry outside mainland China has been encouraged by the
PRC government.
Traditional sources trace the surname to
Yuan Taotu, a 7th century BC
Chen nobleman, who was part of a collateral branch of the family of the
marquis ruling that state. He selected the second character in his grandfather's
style name, Boyuan (伯爰), to be his own family name. Yuan Taotu was granted a
feoff in Yangxia (陽夏), in what is now
Taikang county,
Henan. This estate is regarded as the
ancestral home of the earliest Yuan
clan. Through its connection with the ruling family of Chen, the Yuan house could also claim ancestry from the semi-legendary
Emperor Shun. Descendants of Yuan Taotu are mentioned by name in the
Zuo Zhuan as holding high office in the state of
Chen[Zuo Qiuming (Yang Bojun ed.), Chun qiu Zuo zhuan (春秋左傳: "Zuo's commentary to the Spring and Autumn Annals") (Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1981) at 502, names the Chen diplomat Yuan Qiao (袁僑) and Yuan Po (袁頗) as descendants of Yuan Taotu.] until it was extinguished by
Chu in 479 BC.
An alternate, much less widely accepted theory, suggests that the surname Yuan is derived from
Xuanyuan ('轅 or 玄袁), the clan name of the
Yellow Emperor. After his death, the Yellow Emperor's estates came to be called Yuanyi (袁邑), and his descendants took their place of birth as a surname.
[Tang Xueyou (1994) 袁""汤氏 ("Yuans change their surname to Tang"). Retrieved 15 Nov. 2005.]Prior to the
unification of China in 221 BC, the concentration of the surname was in the historical domain of Chen. Some members of the Yuan clan are known to have moved to
Zheng and other neighbouring states. The process of emigration from the Yangxia heartland accelerated considerably after unification. An example of this is the case of
Yuan Ang, a minister to
Emperor Gao of Han. His family was forced by banditry to move to Anling, in the area of modern
Xi'an, some 500 km west of their ancestral homeland.
[Sima Qian, Shi ji (史記: "Historical records") (Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1959) at 2737.]The surname Yuan could be written in at least five different ways in early
Han times, and they were used interchangeably in pre-Han times.
[Archaic renderings of the Yuan name include: 轅; 榬; '; 援; 爰. According to Ouyang Xiu, the now standardised character for name (袁) became prevalent around the end of the Qin Dynasty (2nd century BC), by a family which had come to reside in the region around Luoyang in central-north China.] By the 1st century, the name had taken a largely standardised form (袁), which remains to the present day. An early dictonary, the
Shuowen, defines this character as "a long garment", but this archaic meaning had already fallen into disuse. The Han text
Qian fu lun (潛夫論: "Comments of a Recluse") suggests that the character was derived from either 1) the character
ai ("), meaning "sorrow, grief"; or 2) a combination of the characters
gong (公: "lord") and
gu (谷: "grain").
[Wang Fu, Qian fu lun (潜夫論: "Comments of a Recluse") (Shanghai: Shanghai Guji chuban she, 1978).]Until the end of the
Han Dynasty, the heartland of the Yuan house was still in the area of the ancient state of Chen. Around the 1st century, three Yuan clans rose to sufficient national importance to be mentioned in the
dynastic histories. All were located in close proximity of each other, on the tributaries of the
Huai River. One maintained its estates at Fuyue (扶樂), in Chen (陳); another was based at Ruyang (汝陽) in Ru'nan (汝南); and a third of lesser importance was associated with Yingchuan (潁川). All three clans produced members of a land-owning
gentry which began to participate increasingly in local and national government, although only the first two are known of in any detail.
The Ru'nan Yuan
The most well-known group were undoubtedly the Yuan clan of Ru'nan (now
Shangshui,
Henan). According to local
genealogies, the Ru'nan Yuan estates were in the vicinity of the modern township of Yuanlao (袁老), bordering the Fen River (汾水) in the south. There are still some 20,000 Yuan in the area and around a third of the population of Yuanlao there still bears the name Yuan.
[Tianjialoucun Yuan shi jiapu ("家"村袁氏家譜: "Genealogy of the Yuan clan of Tianjialoucun"), quoted in Shangshui xian zhi (商水縣誌: "Shangshui county gazette") (Zhengzhou: He'nan Renmin chubanshe, 1990) at 108.]The Yuan clan of Ru'nan became known among the gentry for its learning in the
I Ching, which was passed on between generations. The scholar
Yuan Liang (袁良), the earliest Ru'nan Yuan known by name, was an aide to the
heir apparent, the future
Emperor Ming of Han. His grandson
Yuan An (袁安) made the family's fortunes, rising rapidly through the bureaucracy from 70 AD onwards, reaching the post of
Minister over the Masses and playing an important role in policy decisions at the Han court until his death in 92.
[See Fan Ye, Hou Han shu (後漢書: "Book of Later Han") (Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1965) at 1517-1542; and Hu Qiuyin, Ru'nan Yuan shi de fazhan yu Dong Han shehui zhi bianqian (汝南袁氏的发展与东汉社会之变迁: "The development of the Yuan clan of Ru'nan and changes in Eastern Han society"), (1998) 1 Xuchang shizhuan xuebao (许昌师"学报) 73-76.]One of his sons took the highest military post and two of his grandsons both reached the rank of "
Three Excellencies". They did not, however, play any significant role in the
executive, and usually appeared instead as power brokers during critical events, such as the
coup d'etat against
Liang Ji in 169. The reputation and power of the Ru'nan Yuan was maintained with a network of clients and associates, and through intermarriage with other powerful lineages. At the time of
Emperor Ling of Han's death in 189, the clan was undisputed as the most influential in the empire. Most of its leading members lived at the capital
Luoyang and some of its sons, such as
Yuan Shao (袁紹), were born there.
Yuan Shao and his cousin
Yuan Shu (袁") played leading roles in the massacre of the
eunuchs in September 189 and in the succeeding years both became regional warlords.
[See Chen Shou, Sanguo zhi (三國志: "Records of the Three Kingdoms") (Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1959) at 188-210.] Yuan Shu declared himself
emperor in 197, basing his claim to the throne on descent from
Emperor Shun, and died shortly afterwards. Yuan Shao dominated much of north China until he was decisively defeated by
Cao Cao at the
Battle of Guandu in 200. Following his death in 202, the cohesion of Ru'nan Yuan and its followers as a national power collapsed.
The Yuan of Chen
The other Yuan clan of importance were based in the county of Fuyue, Chen
commandery (part of what is now
Taikang county). Like the Ru'nan Yuan, they produced generations of high officials. One of the first whose background can be verified is
Yuan Huan (袁渙), who served
Cao Cao and later his son
Cao Pi in the civil bureaucracy.
[See Chen Shou, note 11 at 333-336.] Yuan Huan doesn't seem to have been connected to the Ru'nan Yuan and his career was not affected by their downfall. Of his three sons who lived to adulthood, all were granted official positions under the
Nine-rank system.
The Chen Yuan were among the northern aristocratic clans that retreated south following the sacking of
Luoyang in 311. According to the great 10th century
genealogist Liu Fang: "Across the Yangzi River, the elite clans were known as 'emigre clans'; the
Wang (王),
Xie (謝), Yuan, and
Xiao (萧) were the greatest among them."
[Ouyang Xiu, Xin Tang shu (新"書: "New Book of Tang") (Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1975) at 5677-5678.] When
Sima Rui established an
Eastern Jin regime at
Jiankang in 317, he did so with the support of powerful members of these great families. The Chen Yuan brought with them dependants and armed retainers, and they were eventually able to carve out large estates for themselves in the peripheral frontier districts. One branch of the clan settled in
Yichun, in east-central China. Eventually it grew to such size that the prefecture was renamed Yuanzhou (袁州) in the early 7th century.
During the Eastern Jin and the
Southern Dynasties period, the Chen Yuan established extensive marriage alliances with the other major clans, especially the Xie, whose ancestral lands were in the same commandery of Chen. The clan also provided
consorts for the imperial family, including the empresses of
Emperor Wen of Southern Song and
Emperor Wu of Qi. The Chen Yuan had strong traditions of scholarly accomplishment, rather than military leadership. It produced a number of notable scholars such as the historian
Yuan Hong (袁宏) and the poet
Yuan Shansong (袁山松).
[See Fang Xuanling (et al), Jin shu (晉書: "Book of Jin") (Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1974) at 2166-2171.]A branch of the Chen Yuan moved north around 420 and settled in
Luoyang, later serving the
Northern Wei. Upon the conquest of the
Chen Dynasty by
Sui in 589, members of the southern ruling elite, such as
Yuan Xian (袁憲), were moved to the capital
Chang'an where they continued to serve in government.
[Xu Yuqing (2005) 陈郡袁氏的历史地位'作" ("The position and historical position of the Yuan clan of Chen commandery"). Retrieved 15 November 2005.] A number of
Tang Dynasty noblemen trace their ancestry directly to the Chen Yuan.
|
administrative division boundaries |
are shown. ]]
In general, the spread of the Yuan surname has followed the migration of
Han Chinese throughout
mainland China,
Hong Kong,
Taiwan and
Southeast Asia. The general trend over the past 1500 years has been a shift from north to south and southeast.
The main branches of the Yuan clan after the
Han Dynasty were all in north China, most of them in population centres near the
Yellow River. In the 3rd century members of the Chen Yuan are known to have moved as far south as the
Red River delta in modern
Vietnam.
[Fan Ye, note 10 at 1141.] Early migrations south established Yuan clans along the lower
Yangtze River, in
Danyang,
Lujiang,
Wuxi,
Yangzhou and
Nanjing. Records from the
Tang Dynasty name three major Yuan clans, in
Ru'nan,
Pengcheng and
Yichun.
[Ouyang Xiu, note 13 at 3166.] Larger scale migrations south occurred during the middle and late
Song Dynasty, when north China was overrun by the
Jurchens and later the
Mongols. Yuan clans appeared in what is now
Zhejiang (
Hangzhou,
Ningbo,
Fenghua and
Yinxian),
Jiangxi (
Nanchang) and
Fujian (
Fu'an). The name was already widespread in the 12th century, being concentrated in what is now
Sichuan,
Zhejiang and
Shanxi.
Around the beginning of the
Ming Dynasty in the late 14th century, population booms in the lower
Yangzi valley made Jiangxi,
Jiangsu and Zhejiang the three most populous provinces for the Yuan name. The southern coastal provinces of
Fujian and
Guangdong also experienced significant increases.
By the
Qing Dynasty, Yuan had penetrated to the frontier lands of
Yunnan in the southwest,
Guangxi in the south,
Liaoning in the northeast and Taiwan in the southeast. Many in Guangdong and Fujian migrated south to Southeast Asia, especially
Singapore and
Indonesia.
Up until the 15th century, growth in the Yuan name consistently outstripped that of the general population, but this rate has fallen below average over the past six centuries. This period has seen a resurgence of the Yuan name in northern provinces, so much so that
Sichuan and
Hebei are now the most important in terms of absolute population. The Yuan name is most populous as a percentage of local populations in the
Yangtze Delta region, in northwestern Jiangxi and in the border region between
Shaanxi and Sichuan. As of 1994, for example, there were 97,400 Yuan in
Shanghai, ranked 30th by population - slightly higher than the national average.
[向孙口山授临时大总统印的人，就是宝山袁希洛 ("Yuan Xiluo of Baoshan, who conferred the Presidential Seal upon Sun Yat-sen"). Retrieved 16 Nov. 2005.] In northeast China,
Heilongjiang is home to concentrations in the southeast of the province as well as a lengthy strip along the
Russian border. Generally speaking, the name is relatively absent in the farthest geographical extremes of China, namely southern
Yunnan,
Guangxi, and the island province of
Hainan.
[See Yuan Yida and Zhang Cheng, Zhongguo xingshi (中国"氏: "Chinese surnames") (Shanghai: Huadong Shifan Daxue, 2002).]In Taiwan, the surname is ranked 94th by population. Most who hold the name were relatively
recent emigres who arrived during the 19th century or at the end of the
Chinese Civil War in 1949. They are concentrated in
Taipei,
Hsinchu,
Nantou,
Chiayi and
Tainan.
[Yuan Ziyou, 迁徙分布 ("Migration and distribution") Retrieved 17 Nov. 2005.]Adoption by non-Han peoples
During the 2nd century, the Yuan surname was taken by one of the three tribal groupings of the
Bandun Man, who inhabited what is now
Chongqing and
Sichuan. This group later migrated north to the
Wei River valley, and gradually were absorbed by
Han Chinese.
After
Emperor Xiaowen of the nomadic
Xianbei moved his capital to
Luoyang in 494, his clan of
Touba changed their surname to Yuan (元) to assimilate with the Chinese population. In later centuries, this surname declined and was sometimes subsumed by the more common form of Yuan (袁).
The character of
"yuan" (袁) has also been associated with the Gaoju people of
Central Asia, who claimed descent from the Xuanyuan clan of the
Huang Di. One of their nine clans was called Yuanhe (袁紇) or Yuanwei (袁韋), and one of their twelve major surnames was Qiyuan (乞袁). In 605, the Yuanhe defeated the
Göktürks and won leadership over a tribal confederation which came to be called the
Huihe (回紇). There have been suggestions that the name of
Genghis Khan's tribe,
Kiyad (called "Qiyan" 乞顏 or "Qiyin" 乞引 in
Chinese), was a corruption of "Qiyuan".
[Suri Badalaha (1998) '古族族源新考 ("New study of the origins of the Mongols"). Retrieved 16 Nov. 2005.] Those among the Mongols who retained the Qiyuan surname may have simplified it to "Yuan" after settling in China.
During the early 17th century, during the
Qing (Manchu) dynasty, the surname is also known to have been adopted by members of the
Eight Banners, including by a number of
Manchu bannermen in
Shenyang. Today, the surname appears among the Manchu,
Mongols,
Yao,
Yi,
Bai,
Koreans and
Tibetans. There are major Yuan clans among the Yao in
Long'an county, Guangxi and in
Funing, Yunnan.
The Yuan surname is a relatively minor one in
Korea, where it is called Won (원). According to a 2000 census, there were 1,104 individuals bearing the name in
South Korea.
[행정구역(구시군)/성"·본관별 가구 및 인구 (2000 South Korean census results by surname and clan). Retrieved 27 March 2006.] They trace their ancestry to Won Roebo (袁賚") of Bian (安"縣). During the 20th century, the Won clan were concentrated on the southwestern coast of Korea, in the provinces of
Chungcheongnam-do,
Gyeonggi-do and
Jeollanam-do.
Almost all available information on the early origins of the surname come from noble
genealogies which were updated and maintained until the 10th century. Some of the aristocratic Yuan families of the
Tang Dynasty used these registers as a means of upholding their prestige and maintaining influence. These texts were also used as sources for the 5th century story collection
Shishuo xinyu (世說新語: "New Tales of the World"). A Yuan clan genealogy from
Jiangxi is mentioned in
Sui shu (隋书: "Book of Sui") and a Yuan clan temple inscription survives in the anthology of essayist and poet
Han Yu. Although no copies of early genealogies are extant today, fragments have been preserved by famed Chinese historian
Ouyang Xiu in the 11th century work
Xin Tang shu.
[Ouyang Xiu, note 16 at 3164-3168.] |
Tangqi Yuan shi zongpu, a Yuan genealogy from 1924. |
From the time of Ouyang Xiu onwards, the practice of genealogy compilation devolved down to
gentry families and became correspondingly more widespread. The clans of the
Yangtze Delta and its hinterlands were most active in producing genealogies. Many of the Yuan clan genealogies associate their clans with the Ru'nan Yuan or the Chen Yuan, and in particular trace their ancestries to
Yuan An. Yuan Zhijun (袁志君), founder of the Yuan clan of
Dongguan and ancestor of the Ming dynasty general
Yuan Chonghuan (袁崇煥), for example, claimed to be a 38th generation descendent of Yuan An. A number of collateral branches in
Xingning,
Meixian and
Huiyang also follow the Tongguan clan in the claim. Simiarly, the clans of
Xinchang,
Fenghua and
Yinxian, which produced many
jinshi degree holders in the
Song Dynasty, claimed that their ancestor Yuan Yuan (袁元) was a 31st generation descendant of Yuan An.
[Yuan Mingyi (ed.), Tangqi Yuan shi zongpu (棠溪袁氏宗譜: "Genealogy of the Yuan clan of Tangqi") (1924), now held by Fenghua Municipal Government.] It was not uncommon for clans to build memorial halls, sometimes titled "Ru'nan", "Woxue" (卧雪: "Sleeping in [time of] snow") or "Shouzheng" (守正: "upholding justice"), in honour of Yuan An. Such attempts to trace the origin of clans to a famous individual have interest as a
sociological phenomenon rather than for its historical accuracy.
Clan-based activities and genealogies were attacked during the
Cultural Revolution, when various movements inspired by the Chinese government attempted to eradicate symbols of the old society. They were relatively successful, so much so that many genealogies have been lost. Most surviving Yuan genealogies on the mainland are now out of private hands.
Some one hundred Yuan clan genealogies are known to be held in government archives or in public libraries in
Beijing,
Shanghai and
Ningbo. A provincial breakdown of the geographic distribution of these genealogies in order of number:
Zhejiang (23);
Jiangsu (22);
Hunan (17);
Jiangxi (9);
Shandong (9);
Sichuan (5);
Henan (4);
Anhui (3); unknown (7).
[Yuan Ziyou, 家谱修缮参考资料目录 ("List of genealogy compilation resources"). Retrieved 16 Nov. 2005.] A few genealogies may also be held in university archives in
Japan and the
United States. No doubt many more fragments are scattered in villages and townships across China.
From around the
Song Dynasty, clans began organising themselves in mutual obligation relationships, often based around the compilation of genealogies. The role of clan elders was often that of moral or
Confucian instruction. The
Yuan shi shi fan (袁氏世范: "Yuan clan hereditary rules"), by the Song Dynasty
jinshi Yuan Cai (袁采), was an early manual of
ethical behaviour and was regarded by contemporaries as a classic of clan instruction.
[See Yuan Tsai (Yuan Cai), Family and property in Sung China: Yüan Ts'ai's Precepts for social life, translated, with annotations and introduction by Patricia Buckley Ebrey (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1984).] Toward the
late imperial period, these relationships strengthened to the extent that clans sometimes provided
social welfare and enforced
customary law. Regionally prominent clans often allied together based on a common (and sometimes spurious) ancestor, known as the "first ancestor who moved" (始遷祖).
Renewed interest since the late 1980s by
overseas Chinese in root-seeking has been largely encouraged by the government of
mainland China as a way of attracting
foreign direct investment. In 2001, for example, the Hong Kong Association of Yuen Clansmen (香港袁氏宗親會) donated
HKD $1.2 million toward the construction of a
Yuan Chonghuan Memorial Park on the site of his
Ming Dynasty home.
[Yang Ge, 袁崇焕故里弘扬英雄精神 ("Propagating a heroic spirit in the hometown of Yuan Chonghuan"), Southern Daily, 13 September 2004. Retrieved 16 Nov. 2005.] In 2004, a group of 68 Yuan clan businessmen from
Shenzhen and
Hong Kong were invited to Ru'nan county, so-called "
ancestral home of all Yuan under Heaven". The group, led by
Yuen Mo, a representative of Hong Kong to the
National People's Congress, held talks with provincial and local officials with regard to the development of food processing projects in the area.
[Liang Wensheng, 香港广东袁氏知名人士到汝南寻根 ("Prominent Yuan of Hong Kong and Guangdong in search of roots in Ru'nan"), Zhumadian Daily, 29 October 2004. Retrieved 16 Nov. 2005.]In recent years, genealogy compilation and clan organisation has seen a resurgence, together with a renewed interest in
local history. The 13th "Conference of the Descendants of Shun," held in Ru'nan in 1999, was attended by representatives of Yuan clans from as far afield as
Hong Kong and
Thailand.
[天下袁氏'汝南 ("Yuan of the world return to Ru'nan"), 2003. Retrieved 16 Nov. 2005.] A number of local clans are also reorganising themselves and publishing updated versions of their genealogies. In May 2005, after updating their 1939 genealogy, the Yuan clan of Ximen,
Ningbo, held a large scale
ancestor worship ceremony which was much publicised in the local media.
[Jiang Heng, 宁波西门袁氏一族岁月悠悠 ("Carefree times for the Yuan clan of Ximen, Ningbo") Ningbo China Net 29 April 2005. Retrieved 17 Nov. 2005.] This return to clan consciousness has been limited, however, by increased geographic and social mobility in China.
Pre-modern
*
Yuan Taotu (circa 7th century BC): nobleman and diplomat of
Chen.
*
Yuan Ang: high official of the
Former Han, served at the court of
Liu Bang.
*
Yuan An (died 92):
Later Han scholar and official at the court of
Emperor He of Han; the leading figure of the Yuan clan of Ru'nan.
*
Yuan Shao (died 202): politician of the Later Han, who dominated much of north China in the 190s.
*
Yuan Shu (died 197):
imperial guard of the Later Han, later
warlord and self-declared
emperor.
*
Yuan Huan (died before 220): civil servant serving under
Cao Cao, one of the leading figures of the Yuan clan of Chen.
*
Yuan Hong (328"376):
Jin Dynasty historian, scholar and official.
*
Yuan Shansong (died 399): Jin Dynasty lyricist, historian and essayist.
*
Yuan Hongdao (1568"1610):
Ming dynasty poet.
*
Yuan Chonghuan (1584"1630): Military commander of the Ming Dynasty in
Liaoning peninsula, later revered as a
patriot.
*
Yuan Mei (1716"1797):
Qing dynasty poet and scholar.
*
Yuan Renlin (c. 18th century):
Linguist, noted for his study into
grammatical particles.
Modern
*
Yuan Dehui (c. 19th century) was an
interpreter, best known for translating sections of
Emerich de Vattel's
Le droit des gens into
Chinese.
*
Yuan Shikai (1859"1916): military commander of the late
Qing Dynasty,
President of the Republic of China, later self-proclaimed
emperor of China.
*
Yuan Wencai (died 1930): bandit,
Communist commander.
*
Yuan Muzhi (1909"1978): early
left-wing actor and
director.
*
Luke Chia-Liu Yuan (1912"2003): physicist, grandson of Yuan Shikai, and husband of prominent physicist
Chien-Shiung Wu.
*
Yuan Baohua (born 1916):
economic planner, former President of
Renmin University.
*
Yuan Longping (born 1930):
agronomist, known for developing the first
hybrid rice varieties in the 1970s.
*
Yuan Zhongyi (born 1932):
archaeologist,
curator of the
Terracotta Army museum.
*
Yuan Weishi (born 1931): philosopher and historian, known for criticising the accuracy of Chinese history textbooks.
*
Yuan Weimin (born 1939): Chinese sports administrator and
civil servant; Executive President of the Beijing Organising Committee for the
XXIX Olympiad.
*
Yuan Shoufang (born 1939):
General and Director of the General Political Department of the
People's Liberation Army.
*
Yuen Mo (born 1941):
Hong Kong representative to the
National People's Congress.
*
Yuen Woo-ping: martial arts choreographer and director.
*
Yuan Yida (born 1947):
population genetics researcher and authority on Chinese surnames.
*
Yuan Guiren (born 1950): academic, and Vice-minister of Education in the PRC.
*
Yuan Hongbing (born 1953): former legal academic, now a
dissident seeking
political asylum in
Australia.
*
Yuan Gangming:
Economist at
Qinghua University.
*
Yuan Baojing (1966"2006): investment
tycoon,
executed for
murder in a high profile case.
*
Anita Yuen (born 1971): Hong Kong-based film and television actress.
*
Fiona Yuen (born 1974): Hong Kong-based actress and TV presenter.
*
Yuan Quan (born 1977): television and film actress in mainland China.
*
List of common Chinese surnames*
袁氏家谱 Collections of clan materials from around China, some previously not in the public domain. (Chinese)
*
宁波西袁 The Yuan clan of Ximen,
Ningbo, which boasts a membership of 14,000. (Chinese)
*
日照袁氏, by Yuan Xiping. An essay on the origins and development of the Yuan clan of
Rizhao,
Shandong. (Chinese)
*
袁氏论坛 Yuan clan forum and bulletin board. (Chinese)
