Sheng is the Mandarin pinyin and Wade–Giles romanization of the Chinese surname written with the Chinese character 生. Sheng 生 is a rare Chinese surname that is widely distributed but with a relatively small population. The origin of the surname can be traced back to the leader of an ancient tribal alliance in China, named Zhisheng 知生. It is said that his appearance taught people about production techniques, "in summer, gather firewood, and in winter, burn it, hence the people were named Zhisheng's people." In ancient classic literature such as "Zhuangzi" and "Gangjian Yizhilu," Yuchao, Suiren, and Zhisheng were referred to as the "Three Emperors." These mythological figures are believed to be the pioneers who taught people production techniques. Nowadays, Yuchao, Suiren, and Zhisheng are commonly respected as the "Three Emperors" as a title of honor for their contributions in later generations. "Zhuangzi" mentioned that Yuchao, Suiren, and Zhisheng were the representative figures of three important eras in history. "Taiping Guangji Laozi" referred to Heaven, Earth, and Humanity as the "Upper Three Emperors," while Yuchao, Suiren, and Zhisheng were the "Lower Three Emperors." The era of the Three Emperors represents an important development stage in human history, where Yuchao solved the problem of human settlement, Suiren solved the food problem, and Zhisheng began to teach people how to produce, thus opening the era of agricultural civilization.
Sheng is also the Mandarin pinyin and Wade–Giles romanization of the Chinese surname written with the Chinese character 盛. It is romanized as Shing based on its Cantonese pronunciation, or Seng based on its Southern Min pronunciations. Sheng is listed 146th in the Song dynasty classic text Hundred Family Surnames.[1] As of 2008, it is the 175th most common surname in China, shared by 700,000 people.[2]