The Chinese have various surnames or surnames. One of the surnames in the Chinese nation is the Lim clan. Clan Lim [林] or in Mandarin called Lin clan is the second largest clan in Taiwan and ranks 17th in mainland China (China). In the Book of Hundreds of Chinese Surnames (Bai Jia Xing [百家姓]), Clan Lim is in the 147th position.
Apart from China and Taiwan, Marga Lim is also found in Korea and various Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia. In the introduction, Marga Lim is often referred to by the term “Double Mu Lim [双 木林 (Shuang Mu Lin)]”, this is because the writing Lim [林] is a combination of 2 characters Mu [木].
The origin of the Clan Lim, which originates from the Zi Clan, can be traced back to the Shang Dynasty. The ancestor of the Lim Clan was Bi Gan [比干] who was also the uncle of King Shang Zhou Wang [商 紂王]. The Bi Gan clan is the Zi [子] clan. Bi Gan was a high official of the Shang Dynasty [商朝] who was very loyal so that he always gave advice and harsh criticism of the cruelty of the Shang Zhou Wang King in the hope that the Shang Zhou Wang King could change and order the Shang Dynasty Wisely.
But Bi Gan’s criticism only made King Shang Zhou Wang hate him even more, which finally punished Bi Gan by digging his heart out in front of other officials. King Shang Zhou Wang also ordered Shang soldiers to surround Bi Gan’s house with the intention of killing his family. Bi Gan has 2 wives, each of whom is pregnant.
One of his Istinya was arrested and immediately sentenced to death. The other one managed to escape the encirclement and hid himself in the Forest “Chang Lin Shi Shi [長 林 石室]” (Now in Henan Province, China). In hiding, Bi Gan’s wife gave birth to a son with the name “Jian [堅]”.
After King Zhou Wu Wang [周武王] overthrew the government of the Shang Dynasty and founded the Zhou Dynasty. King Zhou Wu Wang bestowed the Lin Clan (Clan Lim) to Jian [堅]. The descendants of Lin Jian [林 堅] then used Lin as their Margin and developed into the largest Lin clan, the majority of which were in Henan Province. The Lim clan is often referred to as the Lim Henan clan or “Henan Lin Shi [河南 林氏]”.
Apart from coming from the Zi clan, Marga Lim also comes from the Ji clan. The Ji [姬] Clan was the Royal Clan of the Zhou Dynasty. King Zhou Ping Wang [周 平王] had a son named “Lin [林]”. His descendants then used his name as Marga.
The term Lin [林] varies according to the local language, in Hokkien and Teochew it is called Marga Lim, in Hakka it is called Marga Lim, while Cantonese says it is Marga Lam.
Famous Chinese figures with the surname Lim or Lin are as follows:
- Lin Fang [林 放], main student of Confucius.
- Lin Shi Hong [林士弘], King of the Duke of Chu in the Sui Dynasty.
- Lin Ze Xu [林則徐], High official in the Qing Dynasty in charge of eradicating Opium.
- Lin Dan [林丹], Gold Medalist in Badminton at the 2008 Olympics.
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