What is the origin of the surname Thief?

The origin of the thief surname: collected in "Shanxi Population Surname Encyclopedia".

"Xutongzhi·Clan Brief" was also collected and placed under the "Rusheng" department. The Dictionary of Surnames also cites the Compilation of Chinese Surnames. In the Han Dynasty, there were thieves and assassins. The surname Thie, pinyin zéi, zé, has a total population of less than 1,000 people in the country in 2021. It is one of the rare surnames in my country. It ranks 3224th in the latest ranking of hundreds of Chinese surnames today. It is distributed in Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province today.

Introduction to the formation of surnames

The origin of surnames can be traced back to the matrilineal clan system in primitive human society, so many ancient surnames in China have the character female next to or at the end. A surname is a specific symbol that distinguishes a clan, such as the name of a tribe or the name of a tribal leader.

It is said that Emperor Huang lived by the Jishui River and took Ji as his surname; Emperor Yan lived by the Jiang River and took Jiang as his surname. Emperor Tian recognized Dayu for his merits in controlling floods and gave him the surname Si. In addition, the son of a tribal leader can also receive a surname.

With the development of social productivity, the matrilineal clan system transitioned to the patrilineal clan system, and the clan system was gradually replaced by the class social system. The method and means of governing the country by giving soil and life to the clan emerged.

The emergence of family members is a sign that human history is moving towards class society. Surnames and surnames are two stages of human progress and the products of civilization. During the Xia and Shang dynasties, all nobles had surnames. The branch of the surname is Shi, which means family or clan.