Chinese:: Mandarin form of the surname 簡 meaning ‘simple’ or ‘bamboo slips used for writing in ancient times’: (i) from the personal name of Jian Shifu (簡師父) an official during the Eastern Zhou dynasty (770–256 BC). (ii) from the personal name of Jian Shu (簡叔) an official in the state of Lu (located mainly in present-day Shandong province) during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (iii) from the personal name of Jian (簡) posthumous title of Hu Juju also known as Xu Jianbo (續簡伯) a noble official in the state of Jin (located mainly in present-day Shanxi province) during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (iv) from the personal name of Jian Yong (簡雍) a person in the state of Shu (located mainly in present-day Sichuan province) during the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD) who changed his original surname (耿 Geng ) to 簡 since these two surnames shared similar pronunciations in ancient Chinese. (v) from another surname Jian (檢) meaning ‘procurator’ in ancient China.
People changed their surname from Jian (檢) to Jian (簡) during the Western Han dynasty (206 BC–25 AD) probably in order to avoid persecution. Mandarin form of the surname 菅 from the placename Jian (菅) the name of a fief (located in present-day Shandong province) in the state of Song during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). Mandarin form of the surname 翦 meaning ‘nascent feather’ in Chinese: surname traced back to a Uygur general in the Ming dynasty (1368–1662 AD) who was endowed with the surname Jian (翦) by the emperor Zhu Yuanzhang (1328–1398 AD) and later resided in Taoyuan in Hunan province; also a surname from other minority ethnic groups in China.
Mandarin form of the surname 蹇 meaning ‘crippled’ in Chinese: (i) said to be traced back to Jian Xiu (蹇修) an official during the reign of Tai Hao a legendary leader prior to the Xia dynasty (2070–1600 BC). (ii) from the personal name Jian Shu (蹇叔 c. 690–610 BC) a famous politician in the state of Qin during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC).
