姜

A major Korean surname (강씨), historically associated with 신라 and 고려 noble lineages. Also a historically important Chinese surname appearing in many classic texts.

The ancient form of 姜 appears as a pictographic-phonetic compound:

女 (woman) — semantic component

羌 (Qiang people; phonetic) or an early form similar in shape — provides pronunciation (kang / jiang)

Some scholars interpret the original meaning as a matriarch of a clan, later becoming a surname.

Early bronze inscriptions show a form resembling a woman + a clan mark, indicating an ancestral or lineage name.

Korean surname forms:

강씨 (姜氏) — common Korean surname

Major lineages include:

진주강씨

진양강씨

순흥안씨에서 분파된 강씨 계통 등

Related Korean vocabulary:

강문 (姜門) — the Kang lineage

강씨 (姜氏) — the Kang family or clan

강공 (姜公) — an honorific for a notable ancestor named 姜

姜 is one of the most ancient Chinese surnames, recorded in early Zhou dynasty myths.

In Korean, 姜 (강) and 康 (강) are different surnames but sometimes confused in Romanization (Kang vs. Gang).

In Unicode, 姜 and 薑 are distinct; Mainland Chinese dictionaries treat 姜 as the modern standard character for ginger, but Korea and Japan retain 薑 for the plant.

Classical citations:

《史記·周本紀》 (Records of the Grand Historian)

「姜嫄生后稷。」

“Jiang Yuan gave birth to Hou Ji.”

姜嫄 is a legendary ancestress of the Zhou people.

《左傳》 (Zuo Zhuan)

「姜氏之國。」

“The state ruled by the Jiang clan.”

《廣雅》 (Guangya)

「薑，辛菜也。」

“Ginger is a pungent vegetable.”

Note: In ancient texts written as 薑; in simplified usage today → 姜.