Sun (surname)

Sun (/sʊn/) is a transliteration of a common Chinese surname (simplified Chinese: 孙; traditional Chinese: 孫; pinyin: Sūn). Other transliterations include Suen (Hong Kong and regions with Cantonese-speaking populations), Sen (Amoy dialect), Sng (Teochew), Tôn (Vietnam), Son (Japan/Korea), Soon (regions with Hokkien-speaking populations), Suan (Philippines), and Swen.

Note that in Hong Kong and regions with Cantonese-speaking populations, the surname Xin (辛) is also transliterated as Sun.

Origins

• The surname Chen (陳) comes from Gui (嬀), of Qi
• The surname Ji (姬) comes from the Zhou Dynasty
• The name Sunshu Ao (孫叔敖) comes from the surname Wei (蔿), from Yuan (薳) in Chu
• Sun Wanrong (孫萬榮) came from the Khitan people of Liao Dynasty

Notable people

Historical figures (in chronological order)

• Sun Tzu (544 – 496 BC) – a militarist in the Spring and Autumn period, the author of The Art of War.
• Sun Yang (Bole) – a horse physiognomer of the Spring and Autumn period.
• Sun Bin (a.k.a. Sun Tzu, Sunzi, died 316 BC) – a militarist in the Warring States period and descendant of Sun Tzu.
• Sun Cheng (died 132)
• Sun Jing (孫敬) – 2nd-century native of Hsin-tu in Chihli, who was such an ardent student that at night he always tied his hair to a beam overhead, to prevent himself from dozing over his books. He also habitually bolted the door of his study to keep out intruders.^[1]
• Sun Jian (155–191), Military General and Warlord in the Late Han Dynasty
• Sun Ce (175–200), Eldest Son of Sun Jian Warlord in the Late Han Dynasty
• Sun Quan (182–252),Second Son of Sun Jian Founding Emperor of Eastern Wu
• Sun Liang (243–260), Second Emperor of Eastern Wu
• Sun Xiu (235–264), Third Emperor of Eastern Wu
• Sun Hao (242–284), Fourth and Last Emperor of Eastern Wu
• Lady Sun Sun Jian Daughter Third Wife of Liu Bei
• Sun Jing, Brother of Sun Jian general in the Late Han Dynasty
• Sun Yu,
• Sun Fu,
• Sun Ben, General and Nephew under Sun Jian
• Sun Yi, Third Son of Sun Jian
• Sun Kuang, Fourth Son of Sun Jian
• Sun Lang, legitimate son of Sun Jian
• Sun Deng, Sun Quan Eldest Son
• Sun He.Sun Quan Third Son and Father of Sun Hao
• Sun Qian – Official of Warlord Liu Bei in the late Han Dynasty.
• Sun Kang (孫康; 4th century) – A native of Luoyang, who in his youth was so poor that he could not afford a lamp to read by. He therefore studied in winter by light reflected from the snow, and ultimately rose to be a Censor.^[2]
• Sun Sheng- (4th century) – a Chinese historian.
• Sun Tzu (a.k.a. Sunzi; fl. 4th century) – mathematician famous for the Chinese remainder theorem.
• Sun Chuo (320–377) – a poet of the Six Dynasties poetry tradition.
• Sun En (died 402) – leader of a rebellion against the Jin dynasty.
• Sun Simiao (581–682)- a traditional Chinese medicine physician of the Sui and Tang dynasties.
• Sun Yuanheng (died 696)
• Sun Shi (962–1033) – a native of Po-p'ing in Shandong, who graduated as jinshi after nine attempts and entered the public service, rising to high office under the Emperor Cheu Tseung. In 1008 there was a pretended revelation from God in the form of a letter, which the Emperor and his Court regarded with profound awe. But Sun Shi said, "I have heard that God does not speak; how then should He write a letter?"^[3]
• Sun Ch'ang-ju – a scholar of the Song dynasty, noted for his vast collection of books, which earned for him the sobriquet of Library Sun. In 1015 he was made magistrate of Xunzhou in Guangxi, and subsequently rose to an important office in the household of the Heir Apparent.^[3]
• Sun Fang (12th century) – An Imperial physician, who called himself the Hermit of the Four Stops. He explained this to mean that when he had taken his fill of plain food, he stopped; when he had put on enough plain clothes to keep himself warm, he stopped; when he had realized a fair proportion of his wishes, he stopped; and that after growing old, free from covetousness or envy, he would also be prepared to stop.^[4]
• Sun Qifeng (1583–1675) – a Confucian scholar.
• Sun Chuanting (1593–1643) – a Chinese Field Marshal.
• Sun Sike (died 1700) – a Chinese Bannerman, noted for his successes against the Oelots, against the Shensi rebels in 1675–79, and against Galdan. He rose to be a general, and was ennobled as Baron.^[5]

Military and government

• Sun Kaihua (died 1893) – a Chinese general in the Battle of Tamsui.
• Sun Jiagan (1683–1753) – a Qing dynasty Chinese official.
• Sun Shiyi (1720–1796) – a Chinese Viceroy.
• Sun Zhizu – a native of Hangzhou, who graduated as jinshi in 1766, and served as a Censor. Author of a work on the discrepancies in the various editions of the famous work by Xiao Tong; and also of a hostile criticism on the Kongzi Jiayu.^[1]
• Sun Xingyan (1752–1818) – A native of Jiangsu. From 1795 to 1811 he served with distinction in Shantung, where his honesty was often distasteful to his superiors. He published editions of several Classics and topographies he wrote many classical and antiquarian works; and he discovered the graves of Min Sun, Tantai Mieming, and Zeng Dian, three of the disciples of Confucius.^[6]
• Sun Yuting (1752–1834) – a Chinese Governor.
• Sun Jiagu – a Qing dynasty envoy.
• Sun Yat-sen (1866–1925) – the founder of the Republic of China.
• Sun Chuanfang (1885–1935) – a Zhili clique warlord.
• Sun Li-jen (1900–1990) – a general of the Republic of China who fought in the Second Sino-Japanese War, World War II and the Chinese Civil War.

Other notable people

• Michael Suen – the Secretary for Education of Hong Kong
• Sun Honglei – Chinese Actor (Hong Kong) starring in numerous films and TV dramas
• Sun Jihai – a football player from People's Republic of China
• Sun Mingming (born 1983), Chinese basketball player
• Sun Nan – a Chinese male singer
• Stefanie Sun – a Singaporean singer-songwriter
• Sun Shan – a scholar who came out last on the list of 18 successful graduates. Hence the phrase "beyond Mount Sun," as applied to unsuccessful candidates.^[7]
• Sun Wen – a football player from the People's Republic of China
• Sun Yang – a world champion swimmer from the People's Republic of China
• Sun Yue (basketball) – an NBA basketball player with the Los Angeles Lakers
• Sun Wei – a Japanese fashion model (of Chinese origin)
• Jónas Sen – an Icelandic/Chinese music critic, composer and pianist (of Chinese origin)
• Masayoshi Son - A Japanese businessman and the founder and current chief executive officer of SoftBank, the chief executive officer of SoftBank Mobile, and current chairman of Sprint Corporation.
• Seraph Sun - Singaporean Actress

Fictional people

• Sun Wukong – the Monkey-King protagonist of Journey to the West
• Son Goku – main character in the Dragon Ball series loosely based on Sun Wukong.
• Grandpa Son Gohan – adoptive grandfather of Son Goku from Dragon Ball.
• Son Gohan – first son of Son Goku from Dragon Ball.
• Son Goten – second son of Son Goku from Dragon Ball.
• Son Goku Jr. – Great-great grandson of Goku from Dragon Ball
• Soon Kim - character in the webcomic Order of the Stick
• Sun-Hwa Kwon - one of the main characters on the American TV series Lost.

References

1. Herbert Allen Giles, A Chinese Biographical Dictionary, p. 688 (1898).
2. Herbert Allen Giles, A Chinese Biographical Dictionary, p. 692 (1898).
3. Herbert Allen Giles, A Chinese Biographical Dictionary, p. 686 (1898).
4. Herbert Allen Giles, A Chinese Biographical Dictionary, p. 689-690 (1898).
5. Herbert Allen Giles, A Chinese Biographical Dictionary, p. 695 (1898).
6. Herbert Allen Giles, A Chinese Biographical Dictionary, p. 691 (1898).
7. Herbert Allen Giles, A Chinese Biographical Dictionary, p. 693 (1898).

External links

• Chinese Sun surname history