The Origin of the Surname Li (李)

[Interpretation] In ancient Chinese texts, the characters Li (李) and Li (理) were used interchangeably. 理 (Lǐ) was the title for a judge in ancient times, responsible for matters of military expeditions and criminal punishment. 李 (Lǐ) is also the name of a type of tree (plum).

[Origin] The story begins with Gaoyao, a leader of the ancient Dongyi tribe who served as the Dali (Chief Justice/Minister of Justice) during the reign of Emperor Yao. His descendants continued to hold this hereditary position through the Shun, Xia, and Shang dynasties. Consequently, the clan adopted their official title as their surname, calling themselves the Li (理) clan.

At the end of the Shang Dynasty, Li Zheng, a descendant of the clan, was executed for his blunt and honest advice to the tyrannical King Zhou of Shang. His son, Li Lizhen, fled with his mother (from the Qihe clan) to the "Ruins of Yihou" in western Henan to hide. They survived by gathering and eating "Muzi" (the fruit of woody plants/tree fruit) to stave off hunger, which ultimately saved their lives.

Later, they settled in Gu County (present-day Luyi, Henan). To express gratitude to the "tree fruit" (Muzi) that saved their lives, and to evade capture by King Zhou’s agents, they changed their surname from 理 (Li) to 李 (Li), as the two characters shared the same pronunciation and were interchangeable at the time.