Posted by Sam on January 19, 2002 at 17:12:01:
In Reply to: Origin of Chinese last name SAM posted by Jason Sanqui on October 25, 2001 at 20:29:38:
: My grandfather's last name was Sam - spelled using the characters for "mountain" and "today". He immigrated to Nicaragua from Fukien. I've asked a couple of Chinese people about my last name and they seem confused. They think it might be an ethnic minority in China. Please help me find my roots!
The surname Sam(Cen, Tsen, Sum, Shum, Cem and Gim)originated during the Zhou Dynasty. The Zhou people were the first semi-nomadic barbarian invaders of China. They were a mixed group of Pre-Han, Mongol, Manchu, Tibetan and Turks. They
lived primarily between Northwest and Northeast Inner Mongolia and North China Proper (Shaanxi and Shanxi Province). Over time they migrated to the south and east of North China Proper. Today, they like other groups make-up the Han Chinese people.