Baixing

Baixing (Chinese: 百姓; pinyin: bǎixìng; lit. 'hundred surnames') or lao baixing (Chinese: 老百姓; lit. 'old hundred surnames') is a traditional Chinese term, meaning "the people" or "commoners." The word "lao" (Chinese: 老; lit. 'old') is often added as a prefix before "baixing".

A confederation of tribes living along the Yellow River were the ancestors of what later became the Han ethnic group in China. Several large tribes, including the Huangdi tribes (Chinese: 黄帝族), Yandi tribes (Chinese: 炎帝族), and the Yi tribes, formed an alliance that consisted of roughly 100 tribes. This alliance is the origin of the Baixing, or the "hundred surnames."

Around 2,000 Han Chinese surnames are currently in use, but 19 of these surnames are used by about half of the Han Chinese people. About 87% of the population share 100 surnames.