XINGGUO ZHENG

Chinese 郑: from the name of a state of Zheng. Xuan Wang, penultimate king (827–781 BC) of the Western Zhou Dynasty, granted the fief of Zheng to his younger brother, along with the title Duke Xuan of Zheng. In the time of Duke Xuan's son, Duke Gong, the capital of the Zhou dynasty was destroyed and the king was killed, bringing to an end the Western Zhou dynasty. The new Zhou king moved the capital eastward, beginning the Eastern Zhou dynasty. Duke Gong of Zheng moved eastward as well, to an area in present-day Henan province in central China, establishing a new state of Zheng. His descendants later adopted Zheng as their surname.