Introduction:

Zhou(1) is the fifth name in the Baijiaxing (Book of Hundred Surnames). It is the 9th most common surname in China today and it is ranked 10, 268th in the United States.

Legends on Zhou:

Zhou Chang, Zhou Ren, Huangdi, King Zhouhao

There are many legends regarding the surname Zhou.

Firstly, some sources said the surname originated from a general named Zhou Chang who lived during Huangdi's time.

Others believe it descended from an official of the Shang Dynasty named Zhou Ren.

Another common saying is that Zhou stemmed from the surname Ji(1), which is from Huangdi's lineage.

According to another legend, King Zhouhao was stripped of his royal status after the elimination of his kingdom. His descendants adopted Zhou as their surname thereafter.

It was also said that Zhou descended from a person in Wugong named Su Zhuozhou. He changed his surname to Zhou and became known as Wugong Zhou.

Some also believe that the forefather of the surname Zhou came from Wugong in Shanxi. However, the lead character in this case is one called Hou Jiben, not Su Zhuozhou.

King Zhoutai

One legend states that the earliest ancestor of the surname Zhou is a descendant of Huangdi named Hou Qi. The latter's descendant was Zhoutai Wang (King Zhoutai, who was also known as Gu Gong). King Zhoutai led his people to a place called Zhouyuan (located below the Qi Mountain in Shanxi). Thereafter, they called themselves the Zhou. Tribe. Some of King Zhoutai's descendants then adopted Zhou as their surname.

According to the book [Yuan He Xing Zuan], the fief of Zhou was bestowed on King Zhoutai. His son, King Zhouwen, later adopted Zhou as his surname. The Zhou Kingdom is said to be located in the present-day Jishan district in Shanxi province. The clan later expanded into the Henan province.

Another version of the story says that King Zhoutai led his people to the region of Zhou following the Zhou Dynasty, due to continual attacks by the surrounding states. Hence, the Zhou Tribe was born. King Zhoutai had a grandson called King Wu, who established the State of Zhou. The kingdom lasted for about 800 years before it was eliminated by the Qin Kingdom. Its people adopted the surname Zhou thereafter. This version of the story claims that the ancestral home of the Zhous is in the southeast of Runan in Henan province.

It was also said that King Zhoutai had a great-grandson named Ji Fa, who established the Zhou Dynasty after he brought about the downfall of the Shang Empire.

The tale of Zhou

The 11th king of the Zhou era was King Zhouyou. He reigned from 781 B.C. to 771 B.C. He took a beautiful woman named Bao Si as his concubine and she bore him a son named Bo Fu.

Bao Si plotted to attain the Empress title for herself and the Crown Prince for her son. She successfully convinced King Zhouyou to banish the Empress and her son, Ji Yijiu (the current crown prince), to the Shen Kingdom, which was ruled by the Empress' father.

The latter was furious at the treatment of his daughter but his state was no match for King Zhouyou's. He decided to collaborate with the barbarians from the north to attack the Zhou capital, Hao. The capital was destroyed and King Zhouyou, his concubine and their son were all killed in the turmoil.

However, the barbarians refused to leave Hao even after they razed the place to the ground and took everything they could. To rescue the capital, the former crown prince, Ji Yijiu, and his grandfather, the ruler of Shen, joined hands to drive the barbarians back to the deserts.

Ji Yijiu ascended the throne and his title was Zhouping Wang (King Zhouping). He moved the capital of his state from Hao to Luoyang in Henan province. This transition marks the beginning of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.

Years later, King Zhouping sent one of his sons, Ji Lie, to govern a region called Runan (present-day Runan district in Henan). Ji Lie's family came to be known as the Zhou royal family, since he was an offspring of King Zhouping. Thereafter, Ji Lie gave his children the surname Zhou.

Famous Zhou celebrities:

Zhou Enlai	--	A founder of the Chinese Communist party. Zhou Enlai was born in 1898 and studied in China, Japan, France and Germany. He was once imprisoned for several months for his involvement in radical movements. In 1922, he established the Chinese Communist Youth Group which was based in Paris. He returned from Germany in 1924 to China and assisted Sun Yat-sen. With the establishment of the People's Republic of China, Zhou Enlai became the country's premier and foreign minister. He helped to improve relations with the West in the early 1970s before his death in 1976.
Chow Yun-Fatt (Zhou Renfa)	--	Internationally renowned Hong Kong actor and star of the successful martial arts epic, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The movie bagged 10 nominations in the 2001 Academy Awards - the most ever for a foreign film. Chow has also starred in other Hollywood hits such as Anna and the King, The Replacement Killers and The Corruptor. He is also well known for his roles in popular Chinese movies such as the Du Shen series (God of Gamblers). Chow's career took a turning point when he starred in Shanghai Beach, a popular TV serial during the early 80s that depicted the story of Chinese mafia in Renaissance Shanghai.
Emil Chau (Zhou Huajian)	--	Popular singer and actor from Hong Kong. He has his roots in Chaoyang in Gunagdong. He was discovered by singer Qi Yu (Chyi) when he was working for Rock Records. His first solo album in 1985 shot him to fame and he gained the reputation of being a "Tian Wang Sha Shou" (Killer of the Heavenly Kings).