The Hundred Surnames" is a book on Chinese surnames, compiled in early Northern Song dynasty. Originally it embodied 411 surnames, and later added to 504, among it 444 simple surnames and 60 combined ones. The order of the surnames according not to the population with the surnames but to convenience for reading and memorizing. “Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li” are the top four surnames in it for when it was compiled, the kings of the period was surnames “Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li”, the compiler did it for honoring the kings.
《百家姓bǎi jiā xìng 》是一本关于中文姓氏的书,成书于北宋初。采用4个宇一句的歌谣形式,共讲568字,介绍了504个中国人的姓氏,其中单姓444个,复姓60个。《百家姓》的次序不是依各姓氏人口实际排列,而是因为读来顺口,易学好记。 “赵钱孙李”成为《百家姓》前四姓是因为百家姓形成于宋朝的吴越钱塘地区,故而宋朝皇帝的赵氏、吴越国国王钱氏、吴越国王钱俶正妃孙氏以及南唐国王李氏成为百家姓前四位。《百家姓》以“赵”姓打头,并非因为“赵”为天下第一大姓,而是因为它是宋代钱塘儒生所作。宋代的皇帝是赵氏,“赵”自然成为“天下第一姓”,不排在首位,就有“欺君之罪”,会引祸上身。又宋时吴越王的后裔居浙江,所以,“钱”姓便排列第二,钱的妃子姓孙,借钱氏之威势,“孙”又排在第三。“李”姓排在第四,大约是因为南唐皇族为李氏之故。