Chinese surnames for Jews
There’s a story floating around that a Chinese emperor once chose seven special Chinese surnames for Jews, allegedly to make them identifiable. That story is either an ancient or a modern spook joke: The names all pun with Chinese synonyms for “veil” & “cover”.
These are the purported “Chinese surnames for Jews”. They all pun with “veil” & “cover”. (Just like the Hebrew word for “Jew” also puns with “veil”.)
- 艾 Ài ≈ 薆 ài = cover, hide, conceal
- 石 Shí ≈ 飾 shì = impersonate, play a role, hide, conceal, cover up, deceive
- 高 Gāo ≈ 縞 gǎo = silk veil
- 金 Jīn ≈ 巾 jīn = head cloth, kerchief, headcovering
- 李 Lǐ ≈ 縭 lí = veil, kerchief; 褵 lí = veil, kerchief
- 張 Zhāng ≈ 帳 zhàng = covering veil, screen
- 趙 Zhào ≈ 罩 zhào = cover, wrap, hood
The story must be utter bollocks, because at least 2 of those names, Li and Zhang, are so extremely common in China that you cannot identify anyone with them. In fact, people with those names are frequently misidentified. Li is the 2nd most common surname, and Zhang ist the 3rd most common surname. Today, each is used by roughly 90 million people in China, and a 100 million worldwide.
Sometimes an eighth name is mentioned, 乾 Gān, which is probably supposed to pun with 干 gān “shield”.
During the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), a Ming emperor conferred seven surnames upon the Jews, by which they are identifiable today: Ai (艾), Shi (石), Gao (高), Jin (金), Li (李), Zhang (張), and Zhao (趙).
During the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), a Ming emperor conferred eight surnames upon the Jews, by which they are identifiable today: Ai, Shi, Gao, Gan, Jin, Li, Zhang and Zhao.