Talk:Yīn (surname)

There is a proposal to create a precedent that names are not encyclopedic. Articles about names regularly show up on various deletion pages and are summarily deleted. Perhaps - since you've been working on an article about a name, you hold a different opinion that you'd like to express. Please do: Deletion policy/names and surnames SchmuckyTheCat 17:05, 19 May 2005 (UTC)

is 'gn' yin as well? Chensiyuan 18:43, 29 March 2006 (UTC)
 * No. Yin can be spelled In, Eun, Oon, An, Yan. But "Gn" or "Ng" is probably instead Wu.

The first entry needs a citation for what the pictogram was meant to represent. In my family, the pictogram has been explained as a hand holding a writing brush, which correlates with the notion that the person holding the title was someone learned/literate. I don't have any documentation of this, not being a scholar of ancient Chinese text, but someone out there must be...? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Likeasimile (talk • contribs) 23:59, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

I am looking for a proper citation online for the symbol originally being a pictogram of a royal headdress. The closest thing I've found online is here: http://www.chineseetymology.org/CharacterASP/CharacterEtymology.aspx?characterInput=%E5%B0%B9&submitButton1=Etymology This is especially true for the Bronze era and Seal usage (1122 - 221 B.C. ). An explanation of Bronze and Seal characters can be found here: http://www.chineseetymology.org/CharacterASP/why_study.aspx#bronze and here: http://www.chineseetymology.org/CharacterASP/why_study.aspx#seal It is interesting to note that the original meaning of the word was to "govern," and later, as the surname was taken on by learned scholars who became high-ranking Imperial Magistrates, the meaning also became to "rule." Earlier forms of the surname were slightly more complex and did indeed resemble a headdress. However, as the pictogram evolved over time, it began to resemble a hand holding a sceptre or stick, and later the stick was curved to become writing-brush-like. It could well be the case that the meaning of the symbol evolved over the course of time and the interpretation of the pictogram simply followed suit. Mouseydung (talk) 14:53, 24 November 2010 (UTC)

殷/尹
My name is James Yin. I am a descendant of Yin and have my family tree in possession but do not know how 2 read it. I think it could shed some light on the subject. Hopefully someone out there can help me in this matter. Please contact Jamesyin825@yahoo.com

This article needs some clean-up. In the introduction, it talks about 殷 (Yīn) only, but in the origin section, it talks only about 尹 (Yǐn). These two surnames, though the same in English, are not the same surnames. Either this article should have information about both surnames, or it should focus on one of them, meaning that another page should be made for the other. ~ Last edited by Justinrleung (talk) 04:18, 26 July 2014 (UTC)
 * An edit by Pushpendra mugdha (13:28, 2 May 2014‎) deleted the original introduction of this article, which included both surnames. Should this article be reverted to the version before this edit? ~ Justinrleung (talk) 04:42, 26 July 2014 (UTC)