"Guo", written in Chinese: 郭, is one of the most common Chinese surnames and means "the wall that surrounds outside a city" in Chinese; it can also be spelled Cok, Guo, Quo, Quoc, Quach, Quock, Que, Quek, Kuo, Kok, Koc, Kwok, Kuok, Gock or Koay. The different way of spelling of this surname indicates the origin of the family. For example, "Kwok" is Cantonese originated in Hong Kong and surrounding area. It is the 18th most common family name in China. The name Guo was noted as far back as the Xia Dynasty.

Origins[link]

Hui Surname[link]

The Guo family is one of the well known Hui clans around Quanzhou in Fujian, the other being the Ding family, they are examples of these Hui who identify as Muslim by nationality but do not practice Islam. Due to more people of these clans identifying as Hui the population of Hui as grown.^[1][2] All these clans needed were only evidence of ancestry from Arab, or Persian, or other Muslim ancestors to be recognized as Hui, and they do not need to practice Islam.^[3] It was the Communist party and its policies which encouraged the definition of Hui as a nationality or ethnicity.^[4][5] The Chinese Government's Historic Artifacts Bureau preserved tombs of Arabs and Persians whom Hui are descended from around Quanzhou.^[6] Many of these Hui worship village gods and do not have Islam as their religion, some are Buddhists, Daoists, followers of Chinese Folk Religions, secularists, and Christians.^[7] Many clans with thousands of members in numerous villages across Fujian recorded their genealogies and had Muslim ancestry.^[8] These Hui clans originating in Fujian have strong sense of unity among their members, despite being scattered across a wide area in Asia, such as Fujian, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, and Philippines.^[9][10]

On Taiwan, there are also descendants of Hui who came with Koxinga who no longer observe Islam, the Taiwan branch of the Guo (romanized as Kuo in Taiwan) family is not Muslim, but still does not offer pork at ancestral shrines. The Chinese Muslim Association counts these people as Muslims.^[11] The Taiwan Guo now view their Hui identity as irrelevant and don't assert that they are Hui.^[12]

Various different accounts are given as too whom the Hui Guo clan is descended from. Several of the Guo claimed descent from Han chinese General Guo Ziyi.^[13] They were then were distressed and disturbed at the fact that their claim of descent from Gui Ziyi contradicted their being Hui, which required foreign ancestry.^[14] Encyclopædia Iranica claims the ancestor of the Guo clan in Baiqi was the Persian Ebn Tur (Daqqaq).^[15]

Some famous Chinese people with "郭" as the surname[link]

• Guo Bingwen
• Guo Jia
• Guo Jing
• Guo Jingjing
• Guo Jingming
• Guo Moruo Chinese author, poet, historian, archaeologist, and government official from Sichuan, China.
• Guo Ziyi (697 – 781), general of Tang China who ended the Anshi Rebellion
• Guo Kan, a famed Chinese general that served under the Mongols.
• Guo Shoujing
• Guo Songtao The first Chinese minister to a western country
• Guo Xi
• Guo Yi
• Terry Gou, Taiwan Billionaire, 148th richest in the world
• Xiaolu Guo author
• Aaron Kwok a Hong Kong singer, actor.
• Tina Guo, virtuoso cellist
• Kenix Kwok a Hong Kong actress.
• Roger Kwok Chun On, a Hong Kong actor
• Kwok Ping-sheung, Walter, Hong Kong Billionaire
• Robert Kuok, Malaysia born Chinese, Hong Kong Billionaire
• Kwek Leng Beng, Singapore Billionaire, 3rd richest in South-east Asia
• Quek Leng Chan, Malaysia Billionaire, 4th richest in South-east Asia, cousin of Kwek Leng Beng
• Patrick S Kwok, Former Mayor of Cupertino, California
• Burt Kwouk, English-born Chinese actor

See also[link]

• Kwak (surname), the same surname in Korean.

References[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2009)

Tina Guo 郭婷娜 is a musician who plays both acoustic and electric cello. Born in Shanghai, China, she moved to the United States at age 5.^[1] She has appeared as a soloist with the San Diego Symphony^[2] and other orchestras, and also plays in a progressive metal band, Off the Deep End.

Education[link]

Guo began playing the cello under the instruction of her father, Lu-Yan Guo, and then studied under Eleonore Schoenfeld and Nathaniel Rosen at the USC Thornton School of Music.

Performance highlights[link]

In 2007, she toured Australia with Metaphor, an all-girl crossover band.^[3] Guo played with the Foo Fighters at the 2008 Grammy Awards, and with Off the Deep End she played at the wrap party for the Sundance Film Festival.^[4]

With Midori Gotō, she played in Antonín Dvořák's String Quartet No. 12 at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. With pianist William Joseph, she performed in Majorca, Spain for the International Philanthropy Summit.

In 2011 & 2012, she toured as a featured performer with Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour.^[5]

Recordings[link]

Guo recorded her first solo CD, Autumn Winds, a classical/new-age album.

She was featured on Al B. Sure!'s new single, "I Love It," from his upcoming album Honey I'm Home.

Guo is currently recording in the studio for her band Lotus Rising, and Industrial Classical Tribal Metal band.

Instruments[link]

Guo performs on a 1787 Perry on loan from the Colburn Foundation.^[6] On electric cello, she plays the Custom Tina Guo Model Yamaha SVC-200; she is endorsed by Yamaha^[7] and played their instrument at the NAMM Show 2009.^[8][9]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Tina Guo MySpace
• Tina Guo, Cellist
• Tina Guo Videos
• Tina Guo on Classical Matters

Rainie Yang
Rainie Yang 2010
Chinese name	楊丞琳 (Traditional)
Chinese name	杨丞琳 (Simplified)
Pinyin	Yáng Chénglín (Mandarin)
Birth name	Lily Yang
Origin	Republic of China (Taiwan)
Born	(1984-06-04) 4 June 1984 (age 28) Taipei, Taiwan
Occupation	Singer, Actress, Host
Genre(s)	Mandopop
Instrument(s)	Electric Piano
Voice type(s)	Mezzo Soprano
Label(s)	Sony Music Taiwan (2005–present)
Years active	2000–present
Associated acts	4 in Love (2000–2002)
Official Website	Rainie Yang@Sony Music Taiwan
Awards Golden Bell Awards 45th Best Leading Actress in a Television Series 2010 Hi My Sweetheart

Rainie Yang (traditional Chinese: 楊丞琳; simplified Chinese: 杨丞琳; pinyin: Yáng Chénglín; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Iû Sêng-lîm), born June 4th, 1984, is a Taiwanese singer who has won multiple awards, Golden Bell Awards actress and talk show host.

Career[link]

Yang began her career in 2000, as a member of Taiwanese quartet girl group 4 in Love, where she was given the stage name of Rainie, matching the weather theme of each member. The group's popularity in the music industry was mediocre and they achieved limited success.^[1] After the group disbanded in 2002, Yang continued to pursue a career in the entertainment industry as a TV host, hosting shows such as "Guess Guess Guess" variety show. After playing supporting roles in several Taiwanese dramas, including the Meteor Garden, she landed the lead role, as Qi Yue, in the CTV drama Devil Beside You opposite Mike He in 2005. Devil Beside You was well received, allowing Yang's career to take off. The same year, she released her debut album, My Intuition, featuring her hit "曖昧" (Intuition) as the theme song of Devil Beside You and 理想情人" (Ideal Lover) as an insert songs of Devil Beside You.

In 2006, she released her follow-up album, Meeting Love, which also sold very well at around 1.4 million. On 8 January 2007, Yang recorded her last "Guess Guess Guess" show due to her busy schedule and focus upon her music/acting career. Hoping to portray herself as a "serious" actress, Yang co-starred in the lesbian-themed film Spider Lilies alongside Isabella Leong. However, after co-starring in Spider Lilies, Yang returned to her previous cute image by becoming the lead actress in the drama Why Why Love, co-starring with Mike He and Kingone Wang, which aired during the summer of 2007. She subsequently released her third album, My Other Self on 7 September 2007. It features the theme song from Why Why Love, "缺氧" (Lacking Oxygen) and the insert song "完美比例" (Perfect Example).

Rainie Yang in 2009

On 23 April 2008, while filming the Taiwanese drama Miss No Good in San Chih, Taiwan; Yang fell heavily from the stairs, and was sent to Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei. The stairs were located between the third floor, where the dressing room was located, and the first floor, where the film set was located. The crew originally thought the falling object was a light frame, but upon hearing a groan, they realized it was her. After an X-ray examination, doctors diagnosed Yang's injury as a spinal contusion. After leaving the hospital, producer Angie Chai took Yang to a Chinese massage therapist.^[2] Miss No Good, starring Yang and Wilber Pan, was aired during the fall/winter of 2008 and met with much success. During this period of time, she also released her 4th album, Not Yet a Woman, which features the insert song "太煩惱" (Too Much Trouble) and the theme song "帶我走" (Take Me Away) that were featured Miss No Good.

In 2009, Yang starred in Gala Television's ToGetHer with Jiro Wang of Fahrenheit and George Hu. Next she filmed The Child's Eye in 3D in Thailand, a horror flick directed by the Pang Brothers with Elanne Kong, and also Taiwanese drama Hi My Sweetheart with Show Luo, which first aired on CTS and GTV on 1 November 2009.^[3] After promoting Hi My Sweetheart, Yang released her fifth album, Rainie & Love...?, on New Years Day, 2010.^[4] Due to the success of Devil Beside You and Miss No Good overseas, Yang entered J-pop in 2010 by releasing a Japanese version of her hit "曖昧" (Intuition) as her first Japanese single.^[5]

Yang released her first collection album, Whimsical World Collection on 23 April 2010. It consists of 3 CDs and a DVD with 3 new tracks, 35 previously released tracks and 15 music videos from her five studio albums. Followed by her first concert, held on 24 April 2010 at Taipei Arena, with Jerry Yan as her special guest ^[6]

In 2011, Yang released her 6th album Longing For, which features "我們都傻" (We are all silly) that was an insert song of Love You.

On 22 October 2010, she was awarded Best Leading Actress in a Television Series at the 45th Golden Bell Awards, for Hi My Sweetheart.

Controversy[link]

In 2003, Yang mistakenly thought the eight-year Second Sino-Japanese War was eleven years in length during a television program. After learning the actual length of the war, she responded with "Only eight years?" Internet postings exaggerated the incident to include her mistaking the death toll of the Nanking Massacre.^[7] Reports of her blunder generated anger in China, leading to the boycotting of Hunan Satellite Television's airing of Devil Beside You, in which she starred. Upon learning of the widespread boycott, Hunan TV replaced the show's airtime with Green Forest, My Home.^[8]

On April 3, 2007, Yang wrote a public apology letter to her fans, and said in an interview: "I left school early and entered the working world. In the future I am willing to read diligently when I have time. I believe in the future I will have a deeper understanding of history...I apologize to everyone...I will work hard to do my job well in the future."^[7]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Compilation albums[link]

Concert DVD[link]

Singles[link]

Filmography[link]

Television series[link]

Movies[link]

TV shows[link]

• Guess Guess Guess (CTV) - 30 September 2002 to 8 January 2007
• 100% Entertainment - 2005
• Azio Entertainment News - 2002 to May 2004
• TVBS Game Show - 2003
• Jacky Live! - 2003

Awards and nominations[link]

Note[link]

1. ^ The order is not specified for the Top 10 Songs of the Year

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rainie Yang

• (Chinese) Rainie Yang Sony Music Entertainment Taiwan Page
• (Chinese) Rainie Yang Profile Page @ Sony Music Entertainment Taiwan
• (Japanese) Rainie Yang@Sony Music Entertainment Japan