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The book,Surnames of a Hundred Families, which was popular inChinaduring the old days, was written more than 1,000 years ago during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). It recorded 438 surnames, of which 408 were single-syllable surnames and 30 were double-syllable surnames. The surnames are arranged in rhymed lines without repetitions. In the original copy that was lost, pictures of famous historical figures were illustrated on the upper part of every page while the text was printed on the lower part. The unknown author successfully combined the study of family names, philology, sociology and pedagogy into one book, making it one of the most popular books in history.

An earlier story has it that during the reign of Emperor Tang Tai Zong (627AD) in Tang Dynasty, Gao Shilian, a government official, made a survey and found that there were a total of 593 different surnames. He then wrote and published a book called “Annal of Surnames” which became a reference for selecting qualified personnel as government officials and for arranging marriages.