姓
The story of 姓
surname
姓 composes of a 女 (woman) and 生 (birth). In the past, when China was matriarchal society, surname was given by mother since everyone was bred by mother only. Although now we inherit the surname from our fathers, 姓 is still used to represent the meaning of surname.
Vocabulary of 姓
- 姓名 (name
- including both surname and last name)
- 姓氏 (surname
- 姓 comes from mother while 氏 comes from father)