Monday, October 6, 2008

Gong (surname)

Gong , aka Kung in Cantonese, is the 99th most prevalent Chinese surname listed in the ancient Song Dynasty classic text, "Hundred Family Surnames". In Chinese writing, the character "龚" is composed of the two characters 龙 and 共 .

According to one ancient story about the derivation of the name, thousands of years ago, an early Gong ancestor worked for an emperor, and at that time, the surname was 共, but at last, the ancestor had to flee due to some kind of calamity, and had to change their surname from 共 to 龚.

Some prominent persons with this surname include: female badminton players Gong Ruina and Gong Zhichao, and painter Gong Xian.

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