순흥 안씨(順興 安氏) — The house that produced the great Goryeo scholar Hoeheon An Hyang, said to be the representative distinguished house among the An surname.
Population — approx. 520,384 (2015 Census, Statistics Korea)
About the 순흥 안씨 clan
The house that produced the great Goryeo scholar Hoeheon An Hyang, said to be the representative distinguished house among the An surname. In the 2015 Census the 순흥 안씨 clan numbered about 520,384 people, one of Korea's major surnames and clans. Even among people surnamed 안, a different clan seat (bon-gwan, 순흥) means a different lineage. New to these terms? See the bon-gwan, pa & hangnyeol guide.
The 1-pa is the line of An Yeong-yu (安永儒), eldest son of the founder An Ja-mi (安子美). An Hyang (安珦, 1243-1306, posthumous title Munseong-gong), who first brought Neo-Confucianism to Goryeo, was An Yeong-yu's grandson and the founder's great-grandson. Fourteen of the clan's twenty-two branches belong to this line.
They include the Chamchan-gong (An Gu), Chanseong-gong (An Gyeong), Jikjang-gong (An Su) and Seopa-gong (An Ri) branches, as well as the Gamchal-gong, Cheomchu-gong, Dojeong-gong, Champan-gong, Chamui-gong and Pangwan-gong branches. Descendants of the Jikjang-gong branch moved via Haman in South Gyeongsang to settle around Gimhae and Changwon during Joseon.
2-pa (Yeong-rin line) (二派(安永麟系))
The 2-pa is the line of An Yeong-rin (安永麟), second son of the founder An Ja-mi; four branches arose from it. An Yeong-rin is said to have served as a military officer (byeoljang).
Its representative figure is An Mun-gae (安文凱, ?-1338, posthumous title Munui-gong), who was named a first-rank merit subject under King Chungsuk of Goryeo and enfeoffed as Prince Sunheung. His grandson An Cheon-bo (安天保, 1339-1425) was the maternal grandfather of Queen Soheon, consort of King Sejong. The 2-pa comprises the Soui-gong branch founded by An Cheon-bo together with the Anwon-gun (An Cheo), Chungjeong-gong (An Jun) and Uirang-gong (An Cheon-bong) branches.
3-pa (Yeong-hwa line) (三派(安永和系))
The 3-pa is the line of An Yeong-hwa (安永和), third son of the founder An Ja-mi; four branches belong to it. An Yeong-hwa is said to have served as a collator (gyoseorang).
Its representative figure is An Chuk (安軸, 1287-1348, pen name Geunjae), a late Goryeo official who wrote the songs Gwandong byeolgok and Jukgye byeolgok. The line comprises the Munjeong-gong branch founded by An Chuk together with the Jeju-gong (An Jip), Jungnangjang-gong (An Eul-su) and Geomgyo-gong (An Deug-in) branches. An Chuk's son An Jong-won and grandson An Gyeong-gong also held high office in late Goryeo and early Joseon.
Branch divisions vary by lineage and jokbo; confirm your own branch in your family's records.
Notable figures
안자미(founder of the Sunheung An clan), 안향, 안중근, 안창호
Tap a name for the full profile (life, career, grave, descendants).
순흥 안씨 — Independence patriots
순흥 안씨 figures recognized as independence patriots (National Independence Hall / Gonghun public data). Tap a name for the citation.
The Sunheung An clan (順興 安氏) has its ancestral seat in Sunheung, Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. Its founder An Ja-mi (安子美) is said to have served as Heungwiwi Boseungbyeoljang in the Goryeo period; settling in Sunheung, his descendants took it as their ancestral seat.
An Hyang, Founding Father of Neo-Confucianism
The representative figure of the Sunheung An clan is the founder's great-grandson Munseonggong An Hyang (安珦). He first introduced Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism from the Yuan dynasty and is revered as the founder of Korean Neo-Confucianism; he was the first Korean scholar to be enshrined in the Confucian shrine. Thereafter the Sunheung An clan continued as a distinguished house that produced many scholars and civil officials through Goryeo and Joseon.
Related Videos
Korean Surnames ep. 5: Sunheung An clan — STB (Korean)
How to build your 순흥 안씨 tree
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