The surname of Gongsun (gūng sūn) comes from two aspects: it comes from the surname of Ji, and the descendant of the Yellow Emperor Ji Xuanyuan is Gongsun. The Gongsun family first appeared in ancient times. According to the "History of Taoism", "Shennong, like his mother and brother, is the monarch and minister of the world, and later took Gongsun as his surname. Emperor Xuanyuan was originally named Gongsun, and later changed his surname to Ji. " Among all his descendants, some are named Gongsun and called Gongsun's. During the Spring and Autumn Period, most governors of various countries liked to be called "Gong". Under the system at that time, the monarch would be inherited by the eldest son of the monarch. Before he officially ascended the throne, he should be made a prince. At this time, other sons will be called childe. At the same time, the son of the vassal is also a son, and the son of the son is Sun. In order to highlight the royal lineage of their ancestors, these descendants of Gongsun changed their surnames to Gongsun. In this way, Gongsun's honor as a surname was widely circulated. At this time, the source of their surnames is varied. Therefore, the ancestor of the Gongsun family is Xuanyuan of Huangdi.

This is recorded in the historical book "Guang Yun": "After the ancient seal, they all called themselves Gongsun, so they had more surnames and were not of the same clan." According to the historical record "Tongzhi", "Gongsun's family, the grandson of the princes in the Spring and Autumn Period, also thought that the family was called Gongsun's family, and they were all called nobles. Or the yellow emperor's surname is gongsun, because he thinks he is a surname. "

Doubt: the surname of Huangdi Ji can't be Gongsun.

Huangdi was born in the ancient Shaodian clan, and the saying that Huangdi's surname was Gongsun mainly came from Records of the Five Emperors, while Guoyu Jinyu, which was earlier than Historical Records, recorded: "Huangdi was born in Jishui (between Wei and Huang in Shaanxi and Gansu), and Yandi was born in Weihe (through Qishan, Fufeng and Wudu), so Huangdi was born in Ji."

Historical Records records: "There are twenty-five descendants of the Yellow Emperor, fourteen of whom have their surnames."

According to Guoyu, fourteen people actually have twelve surnames, namely, Ji, You, Qi, Ji, Teng, Gao, Ren, Xun, Nuo, Yi and Yi. Qingyang and Yigu are all their surnames, while Xuantao and Canglin are all Ji surnames. None of the fourteen sons is named Gongsun. Without a son named Gongsun, would there be a grandson?

Cui Shu in Qing Dynasty pointed out in "The Record of Supplementary Examination in Ancient Times": "Gongsun is the grandson of the public, and there was no such name in ancient times."