SHI

Chinese 史: from a word meaning ‘history’. During the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 BC) a man named Yin Yi held the title of ‘High Historian’; he came to be regarded as setting a model for subsequent historians, and his descendants adopted Shi as their surname.

Chinese 施: The earliest records of this surname go back 4000 years to a prince during the Xia dynasty who was granted an area named Shi. Although his descendants adopted the name, historical records do not show a continuation of the clan to the present. Another branch of the name started later, during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc), when a prince of the state of Lu bore the given name Shi Fu, and his descendants adopted the character for Shi as their surname.

Chinese 师: from a word that also means ‘master’ or ‘teacher’ and is derived from Shiyin, an official title during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 BC). Descendants of various Shiyin adopted the first character of the title as their surname.

Chinese 时: this name, which also means ‘time’, is derived from a character in the given name of Shenshu Shi, a senior minister in the state of Chu during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 BC).