Guan

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For other uses, see Guan (disambiguation).

Guan may refer to either of two Chinese family names (both rendered in Cantonese as Kwoan, or also in English as Kuan, Kwan, Quan, or Quon). The two names are as follows:

[edit] Guan (關/关)

Look up 關 in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Guan (Chinese: 關/关; pinyin: guān; Wade-Giles: kuan1; literally "shut; close; barrier")

The transliteration of the name can sometimes indicate the most recent heritage of the person of the name:

Mainland Chinese tend to use the Mandarin pinyin, which is Guan
In Hong Kong, where Cantonese is the main language, people tend to use the Cantonese transliteration of Kwan
In Vietnam, the Hoa community with the surname 關 tend to use the Sino-Vietnamese term Quan
People of Taiwanese/pre-People's Republic of China era, they are most likely to use the Wade-Giles transliteration of Kuan.

However, this method for indicating recent heritage is not always accurate as multiple transcriptions may be used among relatives of the same family, despite coming from the same region.

It is well known that the Guan family motto is 關家川口有條河, which translates as "There's a river outside the Guan family village."^{[citation needed]}

Prominent people named Guān include:

Guan Yu (關羽, 160 – 219 CE), general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era
Guan Ping (關平,? – 219), Guan Yu's son, also a general of Shu Han
Guan Hanqing (關漢卿, c. 1241 – 1320), playwright
Nancy Kwan (關家蒨, b. 1939), Chinese-American actress
Jade Kwan (關心妍, b. 1979), Cantopop singer
Michelle Kwan (關穎珊, b. 1980), Chinese-American competitive figure skater
Stanley Kwan (關錦鵬, b. 1957), Hong Kong director and producer
Kelvin Kwan (關楚耀, b. 1983), Cantopop singer

[edit] Guan (管)

Guan (Chinese: 管; pinyin: guǎn; Wade-Giles: kuan3; literally "pipe/tube/duct; a woodwind instrument; to manage/control")

Look up 管 in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Prominent people named Guǎn include:

Guan Shu (管叔), the first Ruler of the State of Guan and the progneitor of the Guan surname
Guan Zhong (管仲, ? – 645 BCE), Legalist philosopher and politician
Guan Pinghu, (管平湖, 1897 - 1967), Chinese guqin musician