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Central Tibetan Administration

The Central Tibetan Administration (,, lit. 'Tibetan People's Exile Organization') is the Tibetan government in exile based in Dharamshala, India. It is composed of a judiciary branch, a legislative branch, and an executive branch.

On 29 April 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama re-established the Kashag, which was abolished by the Government of the People's Republic of China on 28 March 1959. On 11 February 1991, Tibet became a founding member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) at a ceremony held at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. The 14th Dalai Lama was the head of state of Tibet before he became the permanent head of the Tibetan Administration and assumed executive functions for Tibetans in exile on 14 June 1991. After the 14th Dalai Lama rejected calls for Tibetan independence, the Charter of Tibetans in Exile was updated immediately in May 2011, with all articles relating to political duties of the 14th Dalai Lama and regents being repealed.

The Central Tibetan Administration authors reports and press releases, and administers a network of schools and other cultural activities for Tibetans in India. The Tibetan diaspora and refugees support the Central Tibetan Administration by voting for members of its parliament, the Sikyong, and by making annual financial contributions through the use of the Green Book. The Central Tibetan Administration also receives international support from other organizations and individuals.

Position on Status of Tibet
In 1963, the 14th Dalai Lama promulgated the Constitution of Tibet, and he became permanent head of state of Tibet. In 1974, the 14th Dalai Lama rejected calls for Tibetan independence, and he became permanent head of the Tibetan Administration and the executive functions for Tibetans-in-exile in 1991. In 2005, the 14th Dalai Lama emphasized that Tibet is a part of China, and Tibetan culture and Buddhism are part of Chinese culture. In March 2011, at 71 years of age, he decided not to assume any political and administrative authority, the Charter of Tibetans in Exile was updated immediately in May 2011, and all articles related to regents were also repealed. In 2017, the 14th Dalai Lama restated that Tibet does not seek independence from China but seeks development.

Funding
The funding of the Central Tibetan Administration comes mostly from private donations collected with the help of organisations like the Tibet Fund, revenue from the Green Book (the "Tibetan in exile passport") and aid from governments like India and the US.

The annual revenue of the Central Tibetan Administration is officially 22 million (measured in US dollars), with the biggest shares going to political activity ($7 million), and administration ($4.5 million). However, according to Michael Backman, these sums are "remarkably low" for what the organisation claims to do, and it probably receives millions more in donations. The CTA does not acknowledge such donations or their sources.

According to a Chinese source, between 1964 and 1968, the U.S. provided 1.735 million dollars to the Dalai Lama's group each year. In October 1998, The Dalai Lama's administration stated that it had received US$1.7 million a year during the 1960s from the Central Intelligence Agency.

In 2002, the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 was passed in the U.S. In 2016, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded a grant of US$23 million to CTA.

In 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump proposed to stop aid to the CTA in 2018. Trump's proposal was criticised heavily by members of the Democratic Party like Nancy Pelosi, and co-chair of the bipartisan Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, Jim McGovern. In February 2020, at the annual National Prayer Breakfast, Pelosi prayed as Trump attended; "Let us pray for the Panchen Lama and all the Tibetan Buddhists in prison in China or missing for following their faith".

Headquarters

The Central Tibetan Administration is headquartered in McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala, India. It represents the people of the entire Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai province, as well as two Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures and one Tibetan Autonomous County in Sichuan Province, one Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and one Tibetan Autonomous County in Gansu Province and one Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province – all of which is termed "Historic Tibet" by the CTA.

The CTA attends to the welfare of the Tibetan exile community in India, who number around 100,000. It runs schools, health services, cultural activities and economic development projects for the Tibetan community. As of 2003, more than 1,000 refugees still arrive each year from China, usually via Nepal.

Green Book
Tibetans living outside Tibet can apply at a Central Tibetan Administration office in their country of residence for a personal document called the Green Book, which serves as a receipt book for the person's "voluntary contributions" to the CTA and the evidence of their claims for "Tibetan citizenship".

For this purpose, CTA defines a Tibetan as "any person born in Tibet, or any person with one parent who was born in Tibet." As Tibetan refugees often lack documents attesting to their place of birth, the eligibility is usually established by an interview.

Blue Book
The Blue Book or Tibetan Solidarity Partnership is a project by Central Tibetan Administration, in which the CTA issues any supporter of Tibet who is of age 18 years or more a Blue Book. This initiative enables supporters of Tibet worldwide to make financial contributions to help the administration in supporting educational, cultural, developmental and humanitarian activities related to Tibetan children and refugees. The book is issued at various CTA offices worldwide.

Internal structure

The Central Tibetan Administration currently operates under the "Charter of the Tibetans In-Exile", adopted in 1991, amended in 2011. Executive authority is vested in the Sikyong, an office formerly held by Lobsang Sangay, who was elected in 2011. The Sikyong is supported by a cabinet of Kalons responsible for specific portfolios. Legislative authority is vested in the Parliament of the Central Tibetan Administration.

The Central Tibetan Administration's Department of Finance is made of seven departments and several special offices. Until 2003, it operated 24 businesses, including publishing, hotels, and handicrafts distribution companies.

On 29 April 1959, the Dalai Lama re-established the Kashag. In 1963, he promulgated Constitution of Tibet, and he became permanent head of state of Tibet. In 1974, he rejected calls for Tibetan independence, and he became permanent head of the Tibetan Administration and the executive functions for Tibetans-in-exile in 1991. On 10 March 2011, at 71 years of age, he decided not to assume any political and administrative authority, the Charter of Tibetans in Exile was updated immediately in May 2011, and all articles related to regents were also repealed, and position Sikyong was created.

Kashag
Notable past members of the Cabinet include Gyalo Thondup, the Dalai Lama's eldest brother, who served as Chairman of the Cabinet and as Kalon of Security, and Jetsun Pema, the Dalai Lama's younger sister, who served variously as Kalon of Health and of Education. Lobsang Nyandak Zayul who served as a representative of the 14th Dalai Lama in the Americas and a multiple cabinet member. He currently serves as president of The Tibet Fund.
 * Penpa Tsering – Sikyong
 * Ven Karma Gelek Yuthok – Kalon of Religion & Culture
 * Sonam Topgyal Khorlatsang – Kalon of Home
 * Karma Yeshi – Kalon of Finance
 * Dr. Pema Yangchen – Kalon of Education
 * Phagpa Tsering Labrang – Kalon of Security
 * Lobsang Sangay – Kalon of Information & International Relations
 * Choekyong Wangchuk – Kalon of Health

Settlements
The Central Tibetan Administration, together with the Indian government, has constructed more than 45 "settlements" in India for Tibetan refugees as of 2020. The establishment of the Tibetan Re-settlement and Rehabilitation (TRR) settlements began in 1966, with the TRR settlements in South India, Darjeeling, and Sikkim becoming officially "protected areas" and requiring special entry permits for entry.

Media activities
A 1978 study by Melvyn Goldstein and a 1983 study by Lynn Pulman on Tibetan communities-in-exile in southern India argue that the CTA adopted a stance of preserving an "idea of return" and fostering the development of an intense feeling of Tibetan cultural and political nationalism among Tibetans" in order to remain a necessary part of the communities.  They state that this was accomplished through the creation of the Tibetan Uprising Day holiday, a Tibetan National Anthem, and the CTA control over local Tibetan-language media that promotes the idea of Chinese endeavours to "eradicate the Tibetan race".   From the 1990s onwards, the CTA used Hollywood films in addition to local media to emphasise the Tibetan exile struggle, secure the loyalty of Tibetans both in exile and in Tibet, promote Tibetan nationalism, and foster the CTA's legitimacy to act in the name of the entire Tibetan nation.

Foreign relations
The Central Tibetan Authority is not recognised as a sovereign government by any country, but it receives financial aid from governments and international organisations for its welfare work among the Tibetan exile community in India.

United States
In 1991, United States President George H. W. Bush signed a Congressional Act that explicitly called Tibet "an occupied country", and identified the Dalai Lama and his administration as "Tibet's true representatives".

In October 1998 the Dalai Lama's administration issued a statement acknowledging the Dalai Lama Group received US$1.7 million a year during the 1960s from the U.S. government through the Central Intelligence Agency, used to train volunteers, run guerrilla operations against the Chinese, and used to open offices and for international lobbying. A guerrilla force was reportedly trained at Camp Hale in Colorado.

During his administration, United States President Barack Obama supported Middle Way Policy of the Central Tibetan Administration and met with the Dalai Lama four times, including at the 2015 annual National Prayer Breakfast.

In 2021, the Biden Administration pledged its support for the CTA, to which a representative expressed gratitude.

title: Central Tibetan Administration


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Liu

劉 / 刘 ( or ) is an East Asian surname. pinyin: Liú in Mandarin Chinese, Lau4 in Cantonese. It is the family name of the Han dynasty emperors. The character originally meant 'battle axe', but is now used only as a surname. It is listed 252nd in the classic text Hundred Family Surnames. Today, it is the 4th most common surname in mainland China as well as one of the most common surnames in the world.

Distribution
In 2019 劉 was the fourth most common surname in mainland China. Additionally, it was the most common surname in Jiangxi province. In 2013 it was found to be the 5th most common surname, shared by 67,700,000 people or 5.1% of the population, with the province with the most people being Shandong.

Origin
One source is that they descend from the Qí (祁) clan of Emperor Yao. For example, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty (one of China's golden ages), Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu of Han) was a descendant of Emperor Yao.

Another origin is from the Jī (姬) clan of King Qing of Zhou. For example, Duke Kang of Liu, the youngest son of King Qing of Zhou, founded the State of Liu and his descendants took state names as surname.

History
Liu was a place name in ancient China (located in present-day Henan). The Liu family name has two main origins from this place name.

Kong Jia, the fourteenth king of the Xia dynasty, was given a male and a female dragon as a reward for his obedience to the god of heaven; yet he could not train them, so he hired a dragon-trainer named Liu Lei (劉累), who had learned how to train dragons from Huanlong. Liu Lei was a descendant of Emperor Yao, and won the admiration of King Kong Jia for his skill at dragon-rearing. To reward Liu Lei, King Kong Jia granted him a place called Liu as his fiefdom. Liu Lei took the name of his fief as his family name. One day, the female dragon died unexpectedly, so Liu Lei secretly chopped her up, cooked her meat, and served it to the king, who loved it so much that he demanded Liu Lei to serve him the same meal again. Since Liu Lei had no means of procuring more dragon meat, he fled the palace. Liu Lei was the first person surnamed Liu in Chinese history, and his descendant Liu Bang founded the Han dynasty.

During the Zhou dynasty, King Ding of Zhou granted the fiefdom of Liu to his younger brother, Ji Jizi (姬季子). Ji Jizi also took Liu as his family name. Eventually, Liu became a state, and Ji Jizi ruled the State of Liu as Duke Kang of Liu. After more than a hundred years under the rule of the Liu family, the State of Liu was destroyed by the central government of the Zhou dynasty.

Liu was the ruling family of the Han dynasty, one of the most prosperous and influential empires in Chinese history. The Han dynasty was founded by Liu Bang. Later, Emperor Liu Che helped expand the Han dynasty even further, ushering in a golden age for China.

The Han dynasty had 30 emperors all surnamed Liu; it was one of the Chinese dynasties with the most emperors. The Han dynasty lasted 400 years, making it one of the longest-lasting Chinese empires in history. The Han is what gives its name to the Han people as well as Han characters / Hanzi / Chinese characters.

Even after the Han dynasty, several Liu continued to hold power within China, including Liu Bei of Shu Han (whose exploits were described in the Records of the Three Kingdoms), as well as the Han-Zhao, Liu Song, Later Han, Northern Han and Southern Han dynasties.

Over history, several non-Han Chinese people have adopted the Liu surname, including Xiongnu and Turkic peoples.

Historical figures

 * Duke Kang of Liu, son of King Qing of Zhou and founder of the State of Liu
 * Liu Bang, Founder of the Han dynasty as Emperor Gaozu of Han
 * Liu Jiao (King of Chu), the younger brother of Liu Bang and famous scholar
 * Liu Ying, Second Emperor of the Han dynasty
 * Liu Heng, Fifth Emperor of the Han dynasty
 * Liu Qi, Sixth Emperor of the Han dynasty
 * Liu Che, Seventh Emperor of the Han dynasty known for expanding the Han dynasty to its fullest extent and for a long reign of 54 years
 * Liu An (King of Huainan), advisor to his nephew, Emperor Wu of Han. Best known for editing the (139 BCE) Huainanzi compendium of Daoist, Confucianist, and Legalist teachings
 * Liu Sheng (King of Zhongshan), the direct ancestor of the Shu Han emperors, had more than 120 sons
 * Liu Xiang, government official, scholar, and author of who lived during the Han dynasty
 * Liu Fuling, Emperor of the Han dynasty
 * Liu He, Emperor of the Han dynasty
 * Liu Xun, Emperor of the Han dynasty
 * Liu Shi, Emperor of the Han dynasty
 * Liu Ao, Emperor of the Han dynasty
 * Liu Xin, Emperor of the Han dynasty
 * Liu Kan, Emperor of the Han dynasty
 * Liu Xin, astronomer, historian, and editor during the Han dynasty
 * Liu Xuan, Emperor Gengshi of the Han dynasty
 * Liu Yan (Xin dynasty), general and older brother of Liu Xiu
 * Liu Xiu, The restorer of the Han dynasty and the founding emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty
 * Liu Dai, politician during the Eastern Han dynasty
 * Liu Du (warlord), warlord and politician during the Eastern Han dynasty
 * Liu Yan (Han dynasty warlord), politician and warlord during the Eastern Han dynasty
 * Liu Biao, warlord during the late Eastern Han dynasty
 * Liu Zhuang, Emperor of the Han dynasty
 * Liu Da, Emperor of the Han dynasty
 * Liu Zhao, Emperor of the Han dynasty
 * Liu Hu, Emperor of the Han dynasty
 * Liu Bao, Emperor of the Han dynasty
 * Liu Zhi, Emperor of the Han dynasty
 * Liu Hong, Emperor of the Han dynasty
 * Liu Xie, Last emperor of the Han dynasty
 * Liu Bei (161–223), Founding emperor of Shu Han
 * Liu Shan (207–271), Second emperor of Shu Han
 * Liu Hong, astronomer and mathematician of the Han dynasty
 * Liu Hui, mathematician during the Three Kingdoms period
 * Liu Yan (Shu Han), general during the Three Kingdoms period
 * Liu Ji (Three Kingdoms), official of Eastern Wu
 * Liu Kun, general, poet and musician of the Western Jin
 * Liu Yuan, First emperor of Han-Zhao
 * Liu He, Second emperor of Han-Zhao
 * Liu Cong, Third emperor of Han-Zhao
 * Liu Can, Fourth emperor of Han-Zhao
 * Liu Yao, Fifth emperor of Han-Zhao
 * Empress Liu E, Empress of Han-Zhao
 * Liu Yu, Founder of the Liu Song as Emperor Wu of Liu Song
 * Liu Yilong, Emperor Wen of Liu Song
 * Empress Liu, Empress of Northern Song
 * Liu Sanjie, folk music singer during the Southern Song dynasty
 * Liu Zhiyuan, Founding emperor of Later Han
 * Liu Chong, Founding emperor of Northern Han
 * Liu Yan, Founding emperor of Southern Han
 * Liu Rengui, chancellor and general of the Tang dynasty
 * Liu Xiangdao, chancellor of the Tang dynasty
 * Liu Ji (general), general of the Tang dynasty
 * Liu Ji (Tang chancellor), chancellor of the Tang dynasty
 * Liu Yan (Tang dynasty), Chinese economist and politician during the Tang dynasty
 * Liu Zhan, chancellor and official of the Tang dynasty
 * Liu Chongwang, chancellor of the Tang dynasty
 * Liu Changqing, famous poet and politician
 * Liu Yuxi, famous poet and statesman
 * Liu Kezhuang, famous poet of southern song
 * Liu Xu, chancellor of Later Tang and Later Jin
 * Liu Bingzhong, chancellor of the Yuan dynasty
 * Liu Bowen, famous poet, statesman, strategist and thinker
 * Liu Tongxun, a politician of the Qing dynasty
 * Liu Yong, politician and calligrapher of the Qing dynasty
 * Liu Mingchuan, First Governor of Taiwan
 * Liu Ji (politician), (1887–1967), 11th Republic-era mayor of Beijing
 * Liu Shaoqi, 2nd President of the People's Republic of China
 * Liu Bocheng, a Chinese military commander in 20th century wars and one of the Marshals of the People's Liberation Army.
 * Liu Cixin, a science-fiction writer, works include The Three-Body Problem series & The Wandering Earth
 * Liu Liu, Chinese Accela Developer, specialized in Standard Choices.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Liu


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Tibet Autonomous Region

The Tibet Autonomous Region, officially the Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is an autonomous region of China and is part of Southwestern China.

It was formally established in 1965 to replace the Tibet Area, the former administrative division of the PRC established after the annexation of Tibet. The establishment was about five years after the 1959 Tibetan uprising and the dismissal of the Kashag, and about 13 years after the original annexation.

The current borders of the Tibet Autonomous Region were generally established in the 18th century and include about half of historical Tibet. The Tibet Autonomous Region spans over 1200000 km2, and is the second-largest province-level division of China by area, after Xinjiang. Due to its harsh and rugged terrain, it is sparsely populated at just over 3.6 million people with a population density of 3 PD/km2, and is the least-populous autonomous region or province in China.

History
Yarlung kings founded the Tibetan Empire in 618. By the end of the 8th century, the empire reached its greatest extent. After a civil war, the empire broke up in 842. The royal lineage fragmented and ruled over small kingdoms such as Guge and Maryul. The Mongol Empire conquered Tibet in 1244 but granted the region a degree of political autonomy. Kublai Khan later incorporated Tibetans into his Yuan empire (1271–1368). The Sakya lama Drogön Chögyal Phagpa became religious teacher to Kublai in the 1250s, and was made the head of the Tibetan region administration c. 1264.

From 1354 to 1642, Central Tibet (Ü-Tsang) was ruled by a succession of dynasties from Nêdong, Shigatse and Lhasa. In 1642, the Ganden Phodrang court of the 5th Dalai Lama was established by Güshi Khan of the Khoshut Khanate, who was enthroned as King of Tibet. The Khoshuts ruled until 1717, when they were overthrown by the Dzungar Khanate. Despite politically charged historical debate concerning the nature of Sino-Tibetan relations,  some historians posit that Tibet under the Ganden Phodrang (1642–1951) was an independent state, albeit under various foreign suzerainties for much of this period, including by the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). The Dzungar forces were in turn expelled by the 1720 expedition to Tibet during the Dzungar–Qing Wars. This began a period of direct Qing rule over Tibet.

From the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912 until 1950, the State of Tibet was de facto independent, as were other regions claimed by the successor Republic of China. The Republican regime, preoccupied with warlordism (1916–1928), civil war (1927–1949) and Japanese invasion (1937–1945), did not exert authority in Tibet. Other regions of ethno-cultural Tibet in eastern Kham and Amdo had been under de jure administration of the Chinese dynastic government since the mid-18th century; they form parts of the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan.

In 1950, following the proclamation of the People's Republic of China the year before, the People's Liberation Army entered Tibet and defeated the Tibetan army in a battle fought near the city of Chamdo. In 1951, Tibetan representatives signed the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet with the Central People's Government affirming China's sovereignty over Tibet and the annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China. The 14th Dalai Lama ratified the agreement in October 1951. After the failure of a violent uprising in 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India and renounced the Seventeen Point Agreement. During the 1950s and 1960s, Western-dispatched insurgents were parachuted into Tibet, almost all of whom were captured and killed. The establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region in 1965 made Tibet a provincial-level division of China.

Geography
The Tibet Autonomous Region is located on the Tibetan Plateau, the highest region on Earth. In northern Tibet elevations reach an average of over 4572 m. Mount Everest is located on Tibet's border with Nepal.

China's provincial-level areas of Xinjiang, Qinghai and Sichuan lie to the north, northeast and east, respectively, of the Tibet AR. There is also a short border with Yunnan Province to the southeast. The countries to the south and southwest are Myanmar, India, Bhutan, and Nepal. China claims Arunachal Pradesh administered by India as part of the Tibet Autonomous Region. It also claims some areas adjoining the Chumbi Valley that are recognised as Bhutan's territory, and some areas of eastern Ladakh claimed by India. India and China agreed to respect the Line of Actual Control in a bilateral agreement signed on 7 September 1993.

Physically, the Tibet AR may be divided into two parts: the lakes region in the west and north-west and the river region, which spreads out on three sides of the former on the east, south and west. Both regions receive limited amounts of rainfall as they lie in the rain shadow of the Himalayas; however, the region names are useful in contrasting their hydrological structures, and also in contrasting their different cultural uses: nomadic in the lake region and agricultural in the river region. On the south the Tibet AR is bounded by the Himalayas, and on the north by a broad mountain system. The system at no point narrows to a single range; generally there are three or four across its breadth. As a whole the system forms the watershed between rivers flowing to the Indian Ocean — the Indus, Brahmaputra and Salween and its tributaries — and the streams flowing into the undrained salt lakes to the north.

The lake region extends from the Pangong Tso Lake in Ladakh, Lake Rakshastal, Yamdrok Lake and Lake Manasarovar near the source of the Indus River, to the sources of the Salween, the Mekong and the Yangtze. Other lakes include Dagze Co, Namtso, and Pagsum Co. The lake region is a wind-swept Alpine grassland. This region is called the Chang Tang (Byang sang) or 'Northern Plateau' by the people of Tibet. It is 1100 km broad and covers an area about equal to that of France. Due to its great distance from the ocean it is extremely arid and possesses no river outlet. The mountain ranges are spread out, rounded, disconnected, and separated by relatively flat valleys.

The Tibet AR is dotted over with large and small lakes, generally salt or alkaline, and intersected by streams. Due to the presence of discontinuous permafrost over the Chang Tang, the soil is boggy and covered with tussocks of grass, thus resembling the Siberian tundra. Salt and fresh-water lakes are intermingled. The lakes are generally without outlet, or have only a small effluent. The deposits consist of soda, potash, borax and common salt. The lake region is noted for a vast number of hot springs, which are widely distributed between the Himalaya and 34° N, but are most numerous to the west of Tengri Nor (north-west of Lhasa). So intense is the cold in this part of Tibet that these springs are sometimes represented by columns of ice, the nearly boiling water having frozen in the act of ejection.

The river region is characterized by fertile mountain valleys and includes the Yarlung Tsangpo River (the upper courses of the Brahmaputra) and its major tributary, the Nyang River, the Salween, the Yangtze, the Mekong, and the Yellow River. The Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon, formed by a horseshoe bend in the river where it flows around Namcha Barwa, is the deepest and possibly longest canyon in the world. Among the mountains there are many narrow valleys. The valleys of Lhasa, Xigazê, Gyantse and the Brahmaputra are free from permafrost, covered with good soil and groves of trees, well irrigated, and richly cultivated.

The South Tibet Valley is formed by the Yarlung Tsangpo River during its middle reaches, where it travels from west to east. The valley is approximately 1200 km long and 300 km wide. The valley descends from 4500 m above sea level to 2800 m. The mountains on either side of the valley are usually around 5000 m high. Lakes here include Lake Paiku and Lake Puma Yumco.

Government
The Tibet Autonomous Region is a province-level entity of the People's Republic of China. Chinese law nominally guarantees some autonomy in the areas of education and language policy. Like other subdivisions of China, routine administration is carried out by a People's Government, headed by a chairman, who has been an ethnic Tibetan except for an interregnum during the Cultural Revolution. As with other Chinese provinces, the chairman carries out work under the direction of the regional secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. The standing committee of the regional Communist Party Committee serves as the top rung of political power in the region. The current chairman is Yan Jinhai and the current party secretary is Wang Junzheng.

Administrative divisions
The Autonomous Region is divided into seven prefecture-level divisions: six prefecture-level cities and one prefecture.

These in turn are subdivided into a total of 66 counties and 8 districts (Chengguan, Doilungdêqên, Dagzê, Samzhubzê, Karub, Bayi, Nêdong, and Seni).

Demographics
With an average of only two people per square kilometer, Tibet has the lowest population density among any of the Chinese province-level administrative regions, mostly due to its harsh and rugged terrain. In 2022, only 37.4 percent of Tibet's population was urban, with 63.4 being rural, amongst the lowest in China, though this is significantly up from 22.6 percent in 2011.

In 2020 the Tibetan population was three million. The ethnic Tibetans, comprising 86.0% of the population, mainly adhere to Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, although there is an ethnic Tibetan Muslim community. Other Muslim ethnic groups such as the Hui and the Salar have inhabited the region. There is also a tiny Tibetan Christian community in eastern Tibet. Smaller tribal groups such as the Monpa and Lhoba, who follow a combination of Tibetan Buddhism and spirit worship, are found mainly in the southeastern parts of the region.

Historically, the population of Tibet consisted of primarily ethnic Tibetans. According to tradition the original ancestors of the Tibetan people, as represented by the six red bands in the Tibetan flag, are: the Se, Mu, Dong, Tong, Dru and Ra. Other traditional ethnic groups with significant population or with the majority of the ethnic group reside in Tibet include Bai people, Blang, Bonan, Dongxiang, Han, Hui people, Lhoba, Lisu people, Miao, Mongols, Monguor (Tu people), Menba (Monpa), Mosuo, Nakhi, Qiang, Nu people, Pumi, Salar, and Yi people.

According to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition published between 1910 and 1911, the total population of the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, including the lamas in the city and vicinity, was about 30,000, and the permanent population also included Chinese families (about 2,000).

Most Han people in the Tibet Autonomous Region (12.2% of the total population) are recent migrants, because all of the Han were expelled from "Outer Tibet" (Central Tibet) following the British invasion until the establishment of the PRC. Only 8% of Han people have household registration in TAR, others keep their household registration in place of origin.

Tibetan scholars and exiles claim that, with the 2006 completion of the Qingzang Railway connecting the Tibet Autonomous Region to Qinghai Province, there has been an "acceleration" of Han migration into the region. The Tibetan government-in-exile based in northern India asserts that the PRC is promoting the migration of Han workers and soldiers to Tibet to marginalize and assimilate the locals.

Religion

The main religion in Tibet has been Buddhism since its outspread in the 8th century AD. Before the arrival of Buddhism, the main religion among Tibetans was an indigenous shamanic and animistic religion, Bon, which now comprises a sizeable minority and influenced the formation of Tibetan Buddhism.

According to estimates from the International Religious Freedom Report of 2012, most Tibetans (who comprise 91% of the population of the Tibet Autonomous Region) are adherents of Tibetan Buddhism, while a minority of 400,000 people are followers the native Bon or folk religions which share the image of Confucius (Tibetan: Kongtse Trulgyi Gyalpo) with Chinese folk religion, though in a different light. According to some reports, the government of China has been promoting the Bon religion, linking it with Confucianism.

Most of the Han Chinese who reside in Tibet practice their native Chinese folk religion. There is a Guandi Temple of Lhasa (拉萨关帝庙) where the Chinese god of war Guandi is identified with the cross-ethnic Chinese, Tibetan, Mongol and Manchu deity Gesar. The temple is built according to both Chinese and Tibetan architecture. It was first erected in 1792 under the Qing dynasty and renovated around 2013 after decades of disrepair.

Built or rebuilt between 2014 and 2015 is the Guandi Temple of Qomolangma (Mount Everest), on Ganggar Mount, in Tingri County.

There are four mosques in the Tibet Autonomous Region with approximately 4,000 to 5,000 Muslim adherents, although a 2010 Chinese survey found a higher proportion of 0.4%. There is a Catholic church with 700 parishioners, which is located in the traditionally Catholic community of Yanjing in the east of the region.

Human rights
Before the annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China in 1951, Tibet was ruled by a theocracy and had a caste-like social hierarchy. Human rights in Tibet prior to its incorporation into the People's Republic of China differed considerably from those in the modern era. Due to tight control of press in mainland China, including the Tibet Autonomous Region, it is difficult to accurately determine the scope of human rights abuses.

When General Secretary Hu Yaobang visited Tibet in 1980 and 1982, he disagreed with what he viewed as heavy-handedness. Hu reduced the number of Han party cadre, and relaxed social controls.

Critics of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) say the CCP's official aim to eliminate "the three evils of separatism, terrorism and religious extremism" is used as a pretext for human rights abuses. A 1992 Amnesty International report stated that judicial standards in the Tibet Autonomous Region were not up to "international standards". The report charged the CCP government with keeping political prisoners and prisoners of conscience; ill-treatment of detainees, including torture, and inaction in the face of ill-treatment; the use of the death penalty; extrajudicial executions; and forced abortion and sterilization.

Comfortable Housing Program
Beginning in 2006, 280,000 Tibetans who lived in traditional villages and as nomadic herdsmen have been forcefully relocated into villages and towns. In those areas, new housing was built and existing houses were remodelled to serve a total of 2 million people. Those living in substandard housing were required to dismantle their houses and remodel them to government standards. Much of the expense was borne by the residents themselves, often through bank loans. The population transfer program, which was first implemented in Qinghai where 300,000 nomads were resettled, is called "Comfortable Housing", which is part of the "Build a New Socialist Countryside" program. Its effect on Tibetan culture has been criticized by exiles and human rights groups. Finding employment is difficult for relocated persons who have only agrarian skills. Income shortfalls are offset by government support programs. It was announced that in 2011 that 20,000 Communist Party cadres will be placed in the new towns.

Economy
From the 1951 Seventeen Point Agreement to 2003, life expectancy in Tibet increased from thirty-six years to sixty-seven years with infant mortality and absolute poverty declining steadily. The average life expectancy in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) reached 72.19 years by 2021, compared to 35.5 years recorded in 1951, the death rate of women in childbirth dropped to 38.63 per 100,000 in 2023 from 5,000 per 100,000 in 1951, the infant mortality rate fell to 5.37 per 1,000 from 430 per 1,000.

The Tibetans traditionally depended upon agriculture for survival. Since the 1980s, however, other jobs such as taxi-driving and hotel retail work have become available in the wake of Chinese economic reform. In 2011, Tibet's GDP topped 60.5 billion yuan (US$9.60 billion), nearly more than seven times as big as the 11.78 billion yuan (US$1.47 billion) in 2000. Economic growth since the beginning of the 21st century has averaged over 10 percent a year. By 2023, its gross domestic product (GDP) stood at nearly 239.3 billion yuan (about 33.6 billion U.S. dollars), adding that the growth rates of the region's major economic indicators, including per capita disposable income, fixed asset investment, and total retail sales of consumer goods, all ranked first in China. The added value of the service sector accounted for 54.1 percent and contributed a 57.6 percent share to economic growth. Investment in fixed assets also grew rapidly last year, with investment in infrastructure up by 34.8 percent and investment in areas related to people's livelihoods up by 31.8 percent. Its GDP grew by an annual average of 9.5 percent from 2012 to 2023, about 3 percentage points higher than the China’s national average.

By 2022, the GDP of the region surpassed 213 billion yuan (US$31.7 billion in nominal), while GDP per capita reached CN¥58,438 (US$8,688 in nominal). In 2022, Tibet's GDP per capita ranked 25th highest in China, as well as higher than any South Asian country except Maldives. In 2008, Chinese news media reported that the per capita disposable incomes of urban and rural residents in Tibet averaged (CN¥12,482 (US$1,798) and CN¥3,176 (US$457) respectively.

While traditional agriculture and animal husbandry continue to lead the area's economy, in 2005 the tertiary sector contributed more than half of its GDP growth, the first time it surpassed the area's primary industry. Rich reserves of natural resources and raw materials have yet to lead to the creation of a strong secondary sector, due in large part to the province's inhospitable terrain, low population density, an underdeveloped infrastructure and the high cost of extraction.

The collection of caterpillar fungus (Cordyceps sinensis, known in Tibetan as Yartsa Gunbu) in late spring / early summer is in many areas the most important source of cash for rural households. It contributes an average of 40% to rural cash income and 8.5% to the Tibet Autonomous Region's GDP.

The re-opening of the Nathu La pass (on southern Tibet's border with India) should facilitate Sino-Indian border trade and boost Tibet's economy.

The China Western Development policy was adopted in 2000 by the central government to boost economic development in western China, including the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Education
There are 4 universities and 3 special colleges in Tibet, including Tibet University, Tibet University for Nationalities, Tibet Tibetan Medical University, Tibet Agricultural and Animal Husbandry College, Lhasa Teachers College, Tibet Police College and Tibet Vocational and Technical College.

Tourism
Foreign tourists were first permitted to visit the Tibet Autonomous Region in the 1980s. While the main attraction is the Potala Palace in Lhasa, there are many other popular tourist destinations including the Jokhang Temple, Namtso Lake, and Tashilhunpo Monastery. Nonetheless, tourism in Tibet is still restricted for non-Chinese passport holders (including citizens of the Republic of China from Taiwan), and foreigners must apply for a Tibet Entry Permit to enter the region.

Transportation
A 2019 white paper from The State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China reported Tibet's road system has achieved a total of 118,800 km.

Airports
The civil airports in Tibet are Lhasa Gonggar Airport, Qamdo Bangda Airport, Nyingchi Airport, and the Gunsa Airport.

Gunsa Airport in Ngari Prefecture began operations on 1 July 2010, to become the fourth civil airport in China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

The Peace Airport for Xigazê was opened for civilian use on 30 October 2010.

Announced in 2010, Nagqu Dagring Airport was expected to become the world's highest altitude airport, at 4,436 meters above sea level. However, in 2015 it was reported that construction of the airport has been delayed due to the necessity to develop higher technological standards.

Railway
The Qinghai–Tibet Railway from Golmud to Lhasa was completed on 12 October 2005. It opened to regular trial service on 1 July 2006. Five pairs of passenger trains run between Golmud and Lhasa, with connections onward to Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Xining and Lanzhou. The line includes the Tanggula Pass, which, at 5,072 m (16,640 ft) above sea level, is the world's highest railway.

The Lhasa–Xigazê Railway branch from Lhasa to Xigazê was completed in 2014. It opened to regular service on 15 August 2014. The planned China–Nepal railway will connect Xigazê to Kathmandu, capital of Nepal, and is expected to be completed around 2027.

The construction of the Sichuan–Tibet Railway began in 2015. The line is expected to be completed around 2025.

title: Tibet Autonomous Region


text:
Tibetan

Tibetan may mean:
 * of, from, or related to Tibet
 * Tibetan people, an ethnic group
 * Tibetan language:
 * Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard
 * Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dialect
 * Tibetan pinyin, a method of writing Standard Tibetan in Latin script
 * Tibetan script
 * any other of the Tibetic languages

Tibetan may additionally refer to:

Culture

 * Old Tibetan, an era of Tibetan history
 * Tibetan art
 * Music of Tibet
 * Tibetan rug
 * Tibetan culture
 * Tibetan cuisine

Religion

 * Tibetan Buddhism
 * Tibetan Muslims

Other uses

 * Tibetan alphabet
 * Tibetan (Unicode block)
 * Tibetan name
 * Tibetan calendar
 * Tibetan Spaniel, a breed of dog
 * Tibetan Mastiff, a breed of dog

title: Tibetan


text:
Chinese surname

Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in Greater China, Korea, Vietnam and among overseas Chinese communities around the world such as Singapore and Malaysia. Written Chinese names begin with surnames, unlike the Western tradition in which surnames are written last. Around 2,000 Han Chinese surnames are currently in use, but the great proportion of Han Chinese people use only a relatively small number of these surnames; 19 surnames are used by around half of the Han Chinese people, while 100 surnames are used by around 87% of the population. A report in 2019 gives the most common Chinese surnames as Wang and Li, each shared by over 100 million people in China. The remaining eight of the top ten most common Chinese surnames are Zhang, Liu, Chen, Yang, Huang, Zhao, Wu and Zhou.

Two distinct types of Chinese surnames existed in ancient China, namely xing ancestral clan names and shi  branch lineage names. Later, the two terms began to be used interchangeably, and in the present day, xing refers to the surname and shi may refer either the clan or maiden name. The two terms may also be used together as xingshi for family names or surnames. Most Chinese surnames (xing) in current use were originally shi. The earliest xing surname might be matrilinear, but Han Chinese family name has been exclusively patrilineal for a couple of millennia, passing from father to children. This system of patrilineal surnames is unusual in the world in its long period of continuity and depth of written history, and Chinese people may view their surnames as part of their shared kinship and Han Chinese identity. Women do not normally change their surnames upon marriage, except sometimes in places with more western influences such as Hong Kong. Traditionally Chinese surnames have been exogamous in that people tend to marry those with different surnames.

The most common Chinese surnames were compiled in the Song dynasty work Hundred Family Surnames, which lists over 400 names. The colloquial expressions lǎobǎixìng (老百姓; lit. "old hundred surnames") and bǎixìng (百姓, lit. "hundred surnames") are used in Chinese to mean "ordinary folks", "the people", or "commoners".

History
Chinese surnames have a history of over 3,000 years. Chinese mythology, however, reaches back further to the legendary figure Fuxi (with the surname Feng), who was said to have established the system of Chinese surnames to distinguish different families and prevent marriage of people with the same family names. Prior to the Warring States period (fifth century BC), only the ruling families and the aristocratic elite had surnames. Historically there was a difference between ancestral clan names or xing and branch lineage names or shi. Xing may be the more ancient surname that referred to the ancestral tribe or clan, while shi denoted a branch of the tribe or clan. For example, the ancestors of the Shang had Zi (子) as xing, but the descendants were subdivided into numerous shi including Yin (殷), Song (宋), Kong (空), Tong (同) and others. The distinction between the two began to be blurred by the Warring States period. During the Qin dynasty, name usage was standardised, commoners started to acquire a surname or xing, and the shi also became xing. By the Han dynasty, families only had xing or xing-shi. The great majority of Han Chinese surnames (now called xing or xingshi) that survive to modern times have their roots in shi rather than the ancient xing.

In modern usage, xing is the surname, but the word shi survives as a word to refer to the clan. The term shi may be appended to the surname of a person; for example, a man with the Zhang surname may be referred to respectfully as Zhang-shi instead of his full name. It is used in particular for the paternal surname of a married woman, therefore in this case shi means maiden name, which a Chinese woman would continue to use after marriage.

Xing
The ancient xing were surnames held by the noble clans. They generally contain a "female" radical, for example Ji, Jiang , Yao  and Yíng. This is taken as evidence that they originated from matriarchal societies based on maternal lineages. The character for xing itself is composed of a female radical and the character for "give birth" (生, shēng). Xing is believed to have been originally transmitted through women of noble birth, while noble men have shi.

Scholars such as Edwin G. Pulleyblank, however, are unconvinced by the matriarchy theory of Chinese surnames due to a lack of independent evidence. An alternative hypothesis has been proposed, suggesting that the use of female radical in xing may have arisen from the clan exogamy system used during the Zhou dynasty (the words xing and shi also did not exist in the Shang dynasty oracle bones). In ancient times, people of the same xing were not permitted to marry each other and a woman married into an aristocratic clan needed to be of a different name. Based on observation of the evolution of characters in oracular scripture from the Shang dynasty through the Zhou: the 女 radical seems to appear during the Zhou period next to Shang sinograms indicating a clan or a tribe. This combination seems to designate specifically a female and could mean "lady of such or such clan". The structure of the xing sinogram could reflect the fact that in the royal court of Zhou, at least in the beginning, only females (wives married into the Zhou family from other clans) were called by their birth clan name, while the men were usually designated by their title or fief.

While people of the same xing were not permitted to marry each other, those with the same shi can. By the Han dynasty when everyone had xing and the surname was transmitted paternally, the practice continued, but it had changed to marriage between families of men on the paternal side being prohibited, but not on the maternal side.

Shi
Prior to the Qin dynasty (3rd century BC) China was largely a fengjian (feudal) society. As fiefdoms were divided and subdivided among descendants, so additional sub-surnames known as shi were created to distinguish between noble lineages according to seniority, though in theory they shared the same ancestor. In this way, a nobleman would hold a shi and a xing. Xing, however, was more important than shi.

The difference between xing and shi became blurred in the Spring and Autumn period starting with women. For example: Chunqiu referred to Duke Xuan of Lu's consort Lady Mujiang (穆姜), who bore the clan name (姓, xing) Jiang, as Jiangshi 姜氏, "[lady of the] Jiang shi" (!).

After the states of China were unified by Qin Shi Huang in 221 BC, surnames gradually spread to the lower classes. Most surnames that survive to the present day were originally shi.

Origins of Chinese surnames
According to the chapter on surnames in the Han dynasty work Fengsu Tong – Xingshi Pian (風俗通姓氏篇), there are 9 origins of Chinese surnames: dynasty names, posthumous titles, ranks of nobility, state names, official positions, style names, places of residence, occupations, and events. Modern scholars such as Kiang Kang-Hu proposed that there are 18 sources from which Chinese surnames may be derived, while others suggested at least 24. These may be names associated with a ruling dynasty such as the various titles and names of rulers, nobility and dynasty, or they may be place names of various territories, districts, towns, villages, and specific locations, the title of official posts or occupations, or names of objects, or they may be derived from the names of family members or clans, and in a few cases, names of contempt given by a ruler.

The following are some of the common sources:

 * 1) Xing: These were usually reserved for the central lineage of the ancient royal family, with collateral lineages taking their own shi. The traditional description was what were known as the "Eight Great Xings of High Antiquity", namely Jiāng , Jī , Yáo , Yíng , Sì , Yún , Guī  and Rèn , though some sources quote Jí  as the last one instead of Rèn. Of these xing, only Jiang and Yao have survived in their original form to modern days as frequently occurring surnames.
 * 2) State name: Many nobles and commoners took the name of their state, either to show their continuing allegiance or as a matter of national and ethnic identity.  These are some of the most common Chinese surnames in the present day such as Wú (, 9th most common), Zhōu (, 10th most common)
 * 3) Name of a fief or place of origin: Fiefdoms were often granted to collateral branches of the aristocracy and it was natural as part of the process of sub-surnaming for their names to be used. An example is Di, Marquis of Ouyang Village, whose descendants took the surname Ouyang . There are some two hundred examples of this identified, often of two-character surnames, but few have survived to the present. Some families acquired their surname during the Han dynasty from the Commandery they resided in.
 * 4) Names of an ancestor: Like the previous example, this was also a common origin with close to 500 or 600 examples, 200 of which are two-character surnames. Often an ancestor's courtesy name would be used. For example, Yuan Taotu took the second character of his grandfather's courtesy name Boyuan  as his surname. Sometimes titles granted to ancestors could also be taken as surnames.
 * 5) Seniority within the family: In ancient usage, the characters zhong, shu  and ji  were used to denote the second, third and fourth (or last) eldest sons in a family. For the first son meng   was meant for a child born to a secondary wife or a concubine, while bo  indicated a child born to the primary wife. These were sometimes adopted as surnames. Of these, Meng is the best known, being the surname of the philosopher Mencius.
 * 6) Official positions, such as Shǐ (, "historian"), Jí (, "royal librarian"), Líng (, "ice master"), Cāng (, "granary manager"), Kù (, "store manager"), Jiàn (, "adviser"), Shàngguān (, "high official"), Tàishǐ (, "grand historian"), Zhōngháng (, "commander of middle column"), Yuèzhèng (, "chief musician"), and in the case of Shang's "Five Officials", namely Sīmǎ (, "minister of horses", akin to defence minister), Sītú (, "minister of the masses", akin to treasurer), Sīkōng (, "minister of works", akin to minister of infrastructure), Sīshì (, "minister of yeomen", akin to chief ombudsman) and Sīkòu (, "minister of bandits", akin to attorney general);
 * 7) General occupations, as with Táo (, "potter"), Tú (, "butcher"), Bǔ (, "diviner"), Jiàng (, "craftsman"), Wū (, "shaman") and Chú (, "cook").
 * 8) Titles of nobility, such as Wáng (, "king"), Hóu (, "marquis"), Xiàhóu (, "Marquis of Xia") and Gōngsūn (, "Duke's grandchild")
 * 9) Royal decree by the Emperor, such as Kuang, bestowed amongst other gifts to Kuang Yuping, previously Fang Yuping (方愈平), by Emperor Xiaozong of Song, upon making Yuping's daughter an imperial concubine.
 * 10) Ethnic and religious groups: Non-Han Chinese peoples in China sometimes took the name of their ethnic groups as sinicized surnames, such as Hú (, "barbarian"), Jīn (, "Jurchen"), Mǎn (, "Manchu"), Dí (, "Di people"), Huí (, "Hui people") and Mùróng (, a Xianbei tribe).  Many Hui Muslims adopted the surname Ma, an old Chinese surname, when they were required to use Chinese surnames during the Ming dynasty as it sounded close to the first syllable of Mohammad; it was also fitting for some of those who were caravaneers as the word means "horse".

Many also changed their surnames throughout history for a number of reasons.

 * A ruler may bestow his own surname on those he considered to have given outstanding service to him; for example, the surname Liu was granted by emperors in the Han dynasty, Li  during the Tang dynasty, and Zhao  from the Song dynasty.
 * Others, however, may avoid using the name of a ruler, for example Shi was changed to Shuai  to avoid conflict with the name of Sima Shi.  Others may modify their name in order to escape from their enemies at times of turmoil, for example Duanmu  to Mu ( and ), and Gong  to Gong.
 * The name may also be changed by simplification of the writing, e.g. Mu to Mo, or reducing from double or multiple character names to single character names, e.g. Duangan  to Duan.
 * It may also have occurred through error, or changed due to a dissatisfaction with the name (e.g. Ai, "sorrow", to Zhong , "heartfelt feeling").

Usage
Chinese surnames or family names are written before the first name or given name. Therefore, someone named Wei from the Zhang  family is called "Zhang Wei" (张伟) and not "Wei Zhang". Chinese women generally retain their maiden name and use their name unchanged after marriage, but in modern times in some communities, some women may choose to attach their husband's surname to the front. Chinese surname is patrilinear where the father's surname is passed on to his children, but more recently some people have opted to use both parents' surnames; although this practice has increased in recent times, it is still relatively uncommon in China, with those who adopted both parents' surnames numbering at only 1.1 million in 2018 (up from 118,000 in 1990).

Some Chinese outside of mainland China, particularly those from the Chinese immigrant communities around the world and those who have acquired a Christian or Western first name, have adopted the Western convention when giving their name in English, placing their surname last. Examples of those commonly known in the West include Jackie Chan (Chinese name Chan Kong-sang), Jimmy Choo (Chinese name Choo Yeang Keat), and Yo-Yo Ma. Those with a Western first name can write their name in English in various ways – some may add the Western first name in front and the Chinese given name last (the surname is therefore in the middle), or fully Westernised with both the Western and Chinese given names before the Chinese surname. Examples include Carrie Lam, originally named Cheng Yuet-ngor (Cheng is the surname), but who has acquired her husband's surname Lam and a Western first name as Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

Due to the different spelling conventions and dialects as well as the different spelling preferences in the various countries these Chinese find themselves in, many people of the same Chinese surname can appear differently when written in English, for example the Lin surname (林) may also appear as Lam (Cantonese) or Lim (Hokkien). Some Chinese surnames that appear to be the same written in English may also be different in Chinese due to different characters having the same or similar pronunciations, dialectal differences, or non-standard romanizations (see section on variation in romanization below).

Distribution of surnames
Surnames are not evenly distributed throughout China's geography. In northern China, Wáng (王) is the most common surname, being shared by 9.9% of the population. Next are Lǐ (李), Zhāng (张/張) and Liú (刘/劉). In the south, Chén (陈/陳) is the most common, being shared by 10.6% of the population. Next are Lǐ (李), Huáng (黄/黃), Lín (林) and Zhāng (张/張). Around the major crossing points of the Yangzi River, the most common surname is Lĭ (李), taking up 7.7%, followed by Wáng (王), Zhāng (张/張), Chan/Chén (陈/陳) and Liú (刘/劉).

A 1987 study showed over 450 family names in common use in Beijing, but there were fewer than 300 family names in Fujian. Furthermore, a 2012 study found that there was the lowest amount of isonymy in surnames among the population around middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River both on the provincial and county levels. Additionally, it was found that counties with the highest values of isonymy were distributed in the provinces with high proportions of ethnic minorities. According to the dendrogram of surname distances, several clusters could be identified. Most provinces in a cluster were conterminous with one another. The one exception to this pattern could be explained by demic migration observed where the Han Chinese migrated to Northeastern China.

A study by geneticist Yuan Yida has found that of all the people with a particular surname, there tends to be a population concentration in a certain province, as tabulated to the right. It does not show, however, the most common surnames in any one province.

The 55th most common family name "Xiào" (肖) appears to be very rare in Hong Kong. This is explained by the fact Hong Kong uses traditional Chinese characters rather than simplified Chinese characters. Originally, the surname 蕭 (Xiāo) was rather common while the surname 肖 (Xiào) was extremely rare, if not non-existent (it is mentioned only sporadically in historical texts). The first round of simplification in 1956 simplified 蕭 into 萧, keeping 蕭/萧 and 肖 distinct. However the second-round in 1977, which has long been abolished, merged 萧 and 肖 into 肖. Despite the retraction of the second round, some people have kept 肖 as their surname, so that there are now two separate surnames, 萧 and 肖.

Chén (陈/陳) is perhaps the most common surname in Hong Kong and Macau, where it is romanized as Chan. It is the most common Chinese surname in Singapore, where it is usually romanized as Tan, and is also common in Taiwan, where it is romanized as Chén.

Fāng (方), which is only the 47th most common overall, is much more common in San Francisco's Chinatown in the United States, although the surname is more often than not romanized as Fong, as based on the Yue dialect. As with the concentration of family names, this can also be explained statistically, as a person with an uncommon name moving to an unsettled area and leaving his family name to large number of descendants.

After the Song dynasty, surname distributions in China largely settled down. The Kuàng (邝/鄺) family, for example, migrated from the northern capital and settled in Guangdong after the Song dynasty revolts. Villages are often made up of a single patrilineage with individuals having the same surname, often with a common male ancestor. They usually intermarry with others from nearby villages, creating genetic clusters.

Surnames at present
Of the thousands of surnames which have been identified from historical texts prior to the modern era, most have either been lost (see extinction of family names) or simplified. Historically there are close to 12,000 surnames recorded including those from non-Han Chinese ethnic groups, of which only about 3,100 are in current use, a factor of almost 4:1 (about 75%) reduction. A 2019 figure however put the total number of Chinese family names at 6,150. Of Han Chinese surnames, the largest number ever recorded was 6,363 (3,730 single-character surnames, 2,633 multiple-character surnames), around 2,000 of which are still in use. Chinese Surname extinction is due to various factors, such as people taking the names of their rulers, orthographic simplifications, taboos against using characters from an emperor's name, and others. A recent example of near surname extinction is the rare surname Shan (𢒉). The character may not be displayed on computer systems used by government officials, and people born after the system change as well as people who want to avoid possible problems changed their name to another character such as Xian (冼). The name is still used by the older people, but some people from the village are concerned that future generations will forget their name origin.

While new names have arisen for various reasons, this has been outweighed by old names disappearing. The most significant factor affecting the surname frequency is other ethnic groups identifying as Han and adopting Han names. In recent centuries some two-character surnames have often dropped a character. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, moreover, some surnames have been graphically simplified.

Although there are thousands of Chinese family names, the 100 most common, which together make up less than 5% of those in existence, are shared by 85% of the population. The three most common surnames in Mainland China are Li, Wang and Zhang, which make up 7.9%, 7.4% and 7.1% respectively. Together they number close to 300 million and are easily the most common surnames in the world. In Chinese, the phrase "third son of Zhang, fourth son of Li" is used to mean "just anybody".

In a 1990 study, the top 200 family names accounted for over 96% of a random sample of 174,900 persons, with over 500 other names accounting for the remaining 4%. In a different study (1987), which combined data from Taiwan and China (sample size of 570,000 persons), the top 19 names covered 55.6%, and the top 100 names covered 87% of the sample. Other data suggest that the top 50 names comprise 70% of the population.

Most commonly occurring Chinese family names have only one character; however, about twenty double-character family names have survived into modern times. These include Sima (司 馬, simp. 司 马), Zhuge (諸 葛, simp. 诸 葛), Ouyang (歐 陽, simp. 欧 阳), occasionally romanized as O'Young, suggesting an Irish origin to English-speakers, and Situ (or Sito 司 徒). Sima, Zhuge, and Ouyang also happen to be the surnames of four extremely famous premodern Chinese historical figures. There are family names with three or more characters, but usually those are not ethnically Han Chinese. For example, Aixinjueluo (愛新覺羅, also romanized from the Manchu language as Aisin Gioro), was the family name of the Manchu royal family of the Qing dynasty. The longest recorded surname written using hanzi characters is Lunalouyugumuzheshuduotumuku'adebu'axi, an extremely rare surname reportedly used by members of the Yi ethnic group in Yunnan province, with seventeen characters in total.

Variations in romanization
Transliteration of Chinese family names (see List of common Chinese surnames) into foreign languages poses a number of problems. Chinese surnames are shared by people speaking a number of dialects and languages which often have different pronunciations of their surnames. The spread of the Chinese diaspora into all parts of the world resulted in the Romanization of the surnames based on different languages and Chinese dialects. Countries that have adopted the system of Chinese surnames such as Vietnam and Korea also spell them according to their own pronunciations. As a result, it is common for the same surname to be transcribed differently. For example, the Chen (陳) surname can appear as Chan (Cantonese, e.g. Jackie Chan), Tan (Hokkien), Tang (Teochew), Chin (Hakka), Trần (Vietnamese) and others; the Li (李) surname may appear as Lee (an example is Lee Kuan Yew), the Zhou (周) surname can appear as Chou, Chew, Jew and many others (e.g. Wakin Chau and Jimmy Choo); while the Zheng surname (鄭/郑) can be romanized into Chang, Cheng, Chung, Teh, Tay, Tee, Tsang, Zeng or Zheng (in pinyin, Chang, Cheng, Zheng and Zeng are all different names). In certain dialects, different surnames could be homonyms so it is common for family names to appear ambiguous when transliterated. Translating Chinese surnames from foreign transliteration often presents ambiguity. For example, the surname "Li" are all Mandarin-based pinyin transliteration for the surnames Lí (黎); Lǐ (李, 理 and 里); and Lì (郦/酈, 栗, 厉/厲, and 利) depending on the tone which is usually omitted in foreign transliterations.

Due to the different pronunciations and romanizations, it is sometimes easy to tell whether a Chinese person has origins in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, or Taiwan. Generally, people of Mainland descent will have their surnames and names in pinyin. Those from Taiwan use Wade-Giles romanization. People from Southeast Asia (mainly Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines) and Hong Kong usually base their romanization of surnames and names on the Min, Hakka and Cantonese languages. The younger generation from Singapore often has their surname in dialect ((Hokkien, Teochew, Hainanese, Cantonese, and Hakka) and given names in English, Mandarin, or both.

Some people use non-standard romanizations, e.g. the Hong Kong media mogul 邵逸夫 Run Run Shaw's surname 邵 is spelt as Shaw (Shao in pinyin).

The use of different systems of romanization based on different Chinese language variants from 1900~1970 also contributed to the variations.

Some examples:

Malaysia/Singapore/Indonesia/Philippines: various spellings are used depending on name origin.

See List of common Chinese surnames for the different spellings and more examples.

Sociological use of surnames
Throughout most of Chinese history, surnames have served sociological functions. Because of their association with the aristocratic elite in their early developments, surnames were often used as symbols of nobility. Thus nobles would use their surnames to be able to trace their ancestry and compete for seniority in terms of hereditary rank. Examples of early genealogies among the royalty can be found in Sima Qian's Historical Records, which contain tables recording the descent lines of noble houses called shibiao.

Later, during the Han dynasty, these tables were used by prominent families to glorify themselves and sometimes even to legitimize their political power. For example, Cao Pi, who forced the abdication of the last Han emperor in his favor, claimed descent from the Yellow Emperor. Chinese emperors sometimes passed their own surnames to subjects as honors. Unlike European practice in which some surnames are obviously noble, Chinese emperors and members of the royal family had regular surnames except in cases where they came from non-Han ethnic groups. This was a result of Chinese imperial theory in which a commoner could receive the Mandate of Heaven and become emperor. Upon becoming emperor, the emperor would retain his original surname. Also as a consequence, many people also had the same surname as the emperor, but had no direct relation to the royal family.

The Tang dynasty was the last period when the great aristocratic families, mostly descended from the nobility of pre-Qin states, held significant centralized and regional power. The surname was used as a source of prestige and common allegiance. During the period many genealogical records called pudie were compiled to trace the complex descent lines of families or clans and their marriage ties to other families or clans. Many of these were collected by Ouyang Xiu in his New History of Tang. To differentiate between different surnames, the Tang also choronyms before stating beforehand, for example Lǒngxī Lǐshì 隴西李氏, meaning Li of Longxi. These were generally the names of commanderies used prior to the reorganization during the Tang, so that they became exclusively associated to clans as their common use had died out. Cadet branches were also listed for further differentiation, such as Gūzāng Fáng 姑臧房, meaning Clan Li of Guzang.

During the Song dynasty, ordinary clans began to organize themselves into corporate units and produce genealogies. This trend was led by the poet Su Shi and his father. As competition for resources and positions in the bureaucracy intensified, individuals used their common ancestry and surname to promote solidarity. They established schools to educate their sons and held common lands to aid disadvantaged families. Ancestral temples were also erected to promote surname identity. Clan cohesion was usually encouraged by successive imperial governments since it aided in social stability. During the Qing dynasty surname associations often undertook extrajudicial roles, providing primitive legal and social security functions. They played important roles in the Chinese diaspora to South-East Asia and elsewhere, providing the infrastructure for the establishment of trading networks. In southern China, however, clans sometimes engaged in armed conflict in competition for land. Clans continued the tradition of tracing their ancestry to the distant past as a matter of prestige. Most of these origin myths, though well established, are spurious.

As a result of the importance of surnames, rules and traditions regarding family and marriage grew increasingly complex. For example, in Taiwan, there is a clan with the so-called "double Liao" surname. The story is that "Chang Yuan-zih of Liao's in Siluo married the only daughter of Liao San-Jiou-Lang who had no son, and he took the oath that he should be in the name of Liao when alive and should be in the name of Chang after death." In some places, there are additional taboos against marriage between people of the same surname, considered to be closely related. Conversely, in some areas, there are different clans with the same surname which are not considered to be related, but even in these cases surname exogamy is generally practiced.

Surname identity and solidarity has declined markedly since the 1930s with the decline of Confucianism and later, the rise of Communism in Mainland China. During the Cultural Revolution, surname culture was actively persecuted by the government with the destruction of ancestral temples and genealogies. Moreover, the influx of Western culture and forces of globalization have also contributed to erode the previous sociological uses of the Chinese surnames.

Mainland China
According to a comprehensive survey of residential permits released by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security on 24 April 2007, the ten most common surnames in mainland China are Wang (王), Li (李), Zhang (张), Liu (刘), Chen (陈), Yang (杨), Huang (黄), Zhao (赵), Wu (吴), and Zhou (周). The same names were also found (in slightly different orders) by a fairly comprehensive survey of 296 million people in 2006, and by the 1982 census. The top 100 surnames cover 84.77% of China's population. The top 10 surnames each have populations greater than 20 million. The MPS survey revealed that the top 3 surnames in China have a combined population larger than Indonesia, the world's fourth-most-populous country.

The 2019 report by Chinese Ministry of Public Security gives the surnames Wang and Li as the most common ones, with each shared by over 100 million people in China. Each of the most common 23 surnames in China has more than 10 million users.

A commonly cited fact from the 1990 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records estimated that Zhang was the most common surname in the world, but no comprehensive information from China was available at the time and more recent editions have omitted the claim.

Taiwan
Names in Taiwan – both among the immigrant ethnic Chinese and Aboriginal Taiwanese people – are similar to those in southeast China but differ somewhat from the distribution of names among all Han Chinese. According to a comprehensive survey of residential permits released by the Taiwanese Ministry of the Interior's Department of Population in February 2005, the ten most common surnames in Taiwan are Chen (陳), Lin (林), Huang (黃), Chang or Zhang (張), Lee or Li (李), Wang (王), Wu (吳), Liu (劉), Tsai (蔡), and Yang (楊).

Taiwanese surnames include some local variants like Tu (塗), which do not even appear among the Hundred Family Surnames, as well as a number of relatively recently created names like Changchien (張簡) and Chiangfan (姜范). However, names in Taiwan show less diversity than China as a whole: the top ten comprise 52.63% of the Taiwanese population and the top hundred 96.11%. There were also only 1,989 surnames recorded by the Ministry's survey, against China's four or five thousand.

As is typical of China as a whole, these surnames conflate many different lineages and origins, although tradition may bind them to the same ancestral temples and rituals or ban intermarriage. For example, some Taiwanese converts to Presbyterianism adopted the name Kai (偕, pinyin Xié) in honor of the Canadian missionary George Leslie Mackay (馬偕, Pe̍h-ōe-jī Má-kai).

title: Chinese surname


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