Chong Family History

Korean (Chŏng): written 정 in Chinese characters 鄭 丁 and 程. There are actually eight Chinese characters used to represent the surname Chŏng which is one of the most common Korean surnames, but the clans that use five of these characters are extremely small. The characters 丁 and 程 are mainly found in Chŏlla province.

(i) The clan which uses the Chinese character 丁 is descended from a Chinese Tang Dynasty minister named Tŏk-sŏng (徳盛) who immigrated to Korea and settled on Aphae Island in Shinan county Chŏlla South Province. (ii) The clan bearing the surname 程 is believed to be descended from Chinese immigrants, but further details are not known. The founding ancestor of the Han San Chŏng clan was called Chŏng Hoe (程 淮).

(iii) The most common of the three more numerous clans which uses the Chinese character 鄭 is the oldest and is widely distributed throughout the peninsula. It is probably of Chinese origin too. Some sources indicate that there are 215 separate Chŏng clans, but only 32 of them can be documented.

The earliest and largest Chŏng clan began in 32 AD when Chibaekho, one of the six ruling elders of pre-Shilla Korea, received the surname of Chŏng from the Shilla King Yuri Isagŭm (24–57 AD). Compare Cheong 5 Choung 1 Chung 11 Jeong 1 Jong 1 Joung Jun 1 and Jung 10.

Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 崇: from Chong (崇) the name of an ancient state (located in Songxian in Henan province) during the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BC). Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 种 adopted in place of another Chinese surname Zhong (仲) by the descendants of Zhong Shanfu (仲山甫) an official during the reign of King Xuan of Zhou (reigned 827–782 BC) in order to escape from the feud.