Tan surname is not a common surname in China, but it is one of the older surnames in China. It ranks 118th in the "Hundred Surnames."
Some famous people with the Tan surname in history
Tan Yü, a Tang dynasty poet. He was from Qudao (now DanYang). In the 20th year of Xuanzong's reign (732), he passed the imperial examination and served as a county magistrate. Yü had a reputation for poetry, and Yin Fan included him among eighteen poets such as Bao Rong, Sun Chuoxuan, Fan Guang, and Shen Rujun, compiling them into the "DanYang Collection," and described his poems as "classical and elegant." The "Complete Tang Poems" has one poem and one couplet of his.
Tan Yue (the exact birth and death years are unknown), also known as Yuan Shi, was from Guian, Anji Prefecture (now Huzhou). He passed the Jinshi examination in the eighth year of Chunxi (1181) and served as a compiler in the Secretariat. In the fifth year of Qingyuan (1199), Li Jinghe, then the governor of Huzhou, invited Tan Yue to recompile the "Wuxing Zhi." Tan Yue was well-versed in historical studies and paid attention to collecting local documents. After accepting the appointment, he readily agreed. After organizing works such as Wei Zhao's "Wuxing Lu," Zhang Xuanyi's "Wuxing Shanshuxuming," Gu Changsheng's "San Wu Ditu Ji," and Yan Zhenqing's "Shizhu Ji," he found that previous writings were incomplete. After repeated sorting, based on the features of the classification in the annals, he divided the new annals into 20 volumes, with each volume further divided into 60 categories, including establishment, evolution, territory, city, lanes, villages, mountains and rivers, official system, offices, post stations, schools, military camps, ancient sites, prominent families, virtuous women, customs, products, and local tributes. This book had comprehensive categories and a uniform format, and it was completed in the first year of Jiatai (1201). The collected materials followed the principle of "recording facts directly" and "annals belong to reliable history," recording without commenting or discussing, and was praised by contemporary scholars as a "man of vast knowledge" and "a true historian."
Tan Lun, also known as Ben Yi, was born in 1429 (the fourth year of Xuande of Ming Dynasty) in Hepo Village, Shanghai County (near the current Qunyi Village in Duxing Township). He passed the Jinshi examination in 1457 (the first year of TianShun) and was appointed as the head of the Verification Office of the Ministry of Personnel. Soon after, he was promoted to the rank of郎中 (assistant director). When the Minister of Personnel, Wang Ao, attended the court audience, he often invited Tan Lun to accompany him, saying, "Because I am old, I fear I might forget the 'Imperial Instructions'; this official can replace me, and he is trustworthy." After completing his mourning period for his mother, Tan Lun returned to serve as the assistant director of the Department of Forests and Mountains and was later promoted to the vice-governor of Yingtian Prefecture. When a major flood occurred in Fengyang, Anhui, local officials tried to cover up the disaster and did not report it to the court. Tan Lun took the initiative to submit a report, saving the people of Fengyang from paying tens of thousands of taels of silver in taxes. Later, he was promoted to the governor of Yingtian Prefecture and then transferred to the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, eventually reaching the position of right minister of the Ministry of Works. He was close friends with the dismissed minister Yin Min. When Yin Min returned to his hometown, Tan Lun held a banquet to see him off, which caused dissatisfaction with the prime minister Li Ziseng, who then also dismissed him. In 1465 (the first year of Chenghua), when Li Ziseng was executed, many people were reinstated, but Tan Lun claimed illness and remained at home, thus distancing himself from the political arena. When the monk Hui Ying of Changshou Temple planned to rebuild the temple, Tan Lun and others contributed funds to restore three halls of the Dharma Hall and one Great Buddha Hall. Because his father Tan Gong (Zi Jingzhan) once funded the repair of the Nanciji Shan Temple, Qin Rongguang's "Huzhou Folk Songs" praised: "Two generations of the Tan family have formed a Buddhist connection, and the sons and fathers are passed down in their hometown. The father repaired the Ji Shan Temple, and the son built the great hall, and the blessings will last for hundreds of years." Tan Lun also founded the Xiaosha Temple in Nanhu. On the eighteenth day of the first month in the seventeenth year of Hongzhi (1504), Tan Lun died peacefully, aged 75.
Tan Yanheng, a historian of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Originally named Yixun, he was also known as Zhongmu and Hao Shefu. After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, he changed his name to Qian, and was known as Rumu and Hao Guanruo, and called himself "a remnant of Jiangzuo." He was from Hai Ning (southwest of present-day Hai Ning, Zhejiang Province). He never held an official position, living instead by copying books and serving as a secretary. He had a broad knowledge, and devoted himself to all kinds of literature, especially focusing on the history of the Ming Dynasty.
Famous male celebrities with the Tan surname
Tan Xuebin, Tan Quanqing, Tan Rui, Tan Zhiwei, Tan Pengfei, etc.
Famous female celebrities with the Tan surname
Tan Lina, Tan Ying, etc.
