Re: chinese surnames

From: Guillaume JACQUES
Message: 1471
Date: 2000-02-12

> >centuries the number of surnames has decreased, and now over 40% of
>the
> >Chinese have one of 4 surnames.
> >
> >Please tell me, Which are these 4 surnames ? (Lee,...and ?)
>
> I didn't write that. Was it Guillaume who wrote this?

Well, I didn't. Anyway, the most common surnames (roughly) are Zhang1,
Li3, Chen2, Zhao4 and Wang2, I guess. However, these "surnames" would
not reach 40% of the chinese population;
However, almsot half the Vietnamese population is called Ngu'yê~n, and
among the korean many are called Yi, Kim and Choi. In some particular
regions of China a surname would be conspicuously frequent (eg 25% of
Sichuan is called Zhang).

Guillaume
>