The House of Fan 范

The house of Fan 范 was a noble family that were vassals to the dukes of Jin 晉すすむ during the Spring and Autumn period 春秋しゅんじゅう (770-5th cent. BCE). It produced several persons serving in high government positions.

The viscounts (zi 子こ) of Fan occupied the office of one of the Six Ministers Commander (liuqing 六ろく卿きょう) that highly influenced the government in Jin. The others were the houses of Zhao 趙ちょう, Han 韓かん, Zhi 知ち, Zhonghang 中なか行ぎょう and Wei 魏ぎ.

Fan is the name of the oldest estate of this family, while the family name, Shi 士し, referred to the high offices its members held. According to the genealogical book Yuanhe xingzuan 元和がんわ姓せい纂 and the chapter on genealogy (Shizu lüe 氏族しぞく略りゃく) in the encylopedia Tongzhi 通つう志こころざし, the house of Fan was founded by descendants of Liu Lei 劉りゅう累るい, who was a great-grandson of the mythological Emperor Yao 堯.

During the early Zhou period 周しゅう (11th. cent.-221 BC), the family was called Tang Du 唐から杜もり because they lived in Du 杜もり, near the royal capital, and because they were descendants of Yao, who bore the kin's name (shi 氏し) Tang 唐とう. The family head was therefore also called Earl of Du (Du Bo 杜もり伯はく). King Xuan of Zhou 周しゅう宣せん王おう (r. 827-782 BCE) killed the Earl of Du, and his son Xian Shu "Uncle Xian" 隰叔 (also called Du Xian 杜もり隰) fled to Jin. The duke of Jin appointed Xian Shu Minister of Justice (shishi 士し師し). His son Shi Wei 士し蒍 was the first person to use Shi as a family name.

His great-grandson Shi Hui 士し會かい (also called Sui Hui 隨ずい會かい, posthumously called Fan Wuzi 范武子こ) was appointed ruler of the town of Fan (modern Fanxian 范縣, Henan). The place name thereafter became the kin's name of this family. The houses of Fan and Zhonghang were destroyed by the viscounts of Zhao, Han, Zhi and Wei in 490.

The most important members of the house of Fan were: