Famous Chinese People: 30 Names Everyone Should Know, Ancient to Modern

沉浸 TeamSeptember 3, 202612 min read

Here are 30 famous Chinese people you should know, from the philosophers of 2,500 years ago to the actors, scientists, and athletes making headlines today. Every name comes with the Chinese characters and pinyin, so you can say it the way Chinese speakers do, not just the way it looks in English.

One quick thing before the list: Chinese names put the family name first. So in 李白 (Lǐ Bái), 李 is the surname and 白 is the given name. If that's new to you, our guide on how Chinese names work explains it in two minutes. Now, the names.

Ancient thinkers and writers

These are the people whose ideas still shape Chinese culture today. Most Chinese students memorize lines from them in school.

Confucius (孔子, Kǒngzǐ)

A teacher who lived around 551-479 BC in the state of Lu (in today's Shandong). His students collected his sayings into the 论语 (Lúnyǔ, "the Analects"). His ideas about respect for parents, learning, and good government became the backbone of Chinese education for two thousand years. Many Chinese proverbs come straight from him.

Laozi (老子, Lǎozǐ)

The name means "Old Master," and he's the traditional author of the 道德经 (Dàodéjīng), the founding text of Daoism. It's a short book about going with the flow of nature instead of forcing things. Historians aren't sure whether Laozi was one real person or a legend built around the book.

Sun Tzu (孙子, Sūnzǐ)

A general and strategist from around the 5th century BC, best known for 孙子兵法 (Sūnzǐ Bīngfǎ, "The Art of War"). The book is still read by military officers, business leaders, and sports coaches. Its most quoted line: know yourself and know your enemy, and you won't lose a hundred battles. Note that 孙子 means "Master Sun," so "Sun Tzu" is a title, not a full name.

Sima Qian (司马迁, Sīmǎ Qiān)

China's most important historian. Around 100 BC, during the Han dynasty, he wrote the 史记 (Shǐjì, "Records of the Grand Historian"), covering more than two thousand years of history. He finished it even after being punished by the emperor, and his format was copied by Chinese historians for centuries.

Li Bai (李白, Lǐ Bái)

The most famous poet of the Tang dynasty (701-762). He wrote about the moon, wine, friendship, and wandering, and his poems are the first ones most Chinese children learn. His short poem "Quiet Night Thoughts" (静夜思, Jìng Yè Sī) is probably the best-known poem in the Chinese language.

Du Fu (杜甫, Dù Fǔ)

Li Bai's friend and the other great Tang poet (712-770). Where Li Bai was wild and playful, Du Fu wrote about war, hunger, and ordinary people's suffering during a rebellion that tore the empire apart. Chinese readers call him the "poet sage."

Rulers and leaders

Searching for "famous people in China" turns up a lot of emperors. These six changed the country's borders, writing, or government in ways you can still see.

Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇, Qín Shǐhuáng)

The first emperor of a unified China, in 221 BC. He standardized the writing system, weights, measures, and roads, and started joining older walls into what became the Great Wall. He's also the man buried with the 兵马俑 (bīngmǎyǒng, "Terracotta Army") near Xi'an, thousands of clay soldiers found by farmers in 1974.

Wu Zetian (武则天, Wǔ Zétiān)

The only woman in Chinese history to rule as emperor in her own name, from 690 to 705 during the Tang dynasty. She started as a consort, became empress, and then took the throne herself. She's a favorite subject of Chinese TV dramas.

Zheng He (郑和, Zhèng Hé)

A Ming dynasty admiral who led seven huge ocean voyages between 1405 and 1433, reaching Southeast Asia, India, Arabia, and the east coast of Africa. His largest ships were far bigger than anything sailing in Europe at the time, and his fleet carried giraffes, spices, and foreign envoys back to the Ming court. He's a good reminder of how many Chinese inventions, like the compass, made those trips possible.

Sun Yat-sen (孙中山, Sūn Zhōngshān)

A doctor turned revolutionary (1866-1925) who worked to end the last imperial dynasty. After the 1911 revolution he became the first provisional president of the Republic of China. He's honored on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, which is rare.

Mao Zedong (毛泽东, Máo Zédōng)

Leader of the Chinese Communist Party who founded the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949, and led the country until his death in 1976. His portrait still hangs over Tiananmen Gate in Beijing.

Deng Xiaoping (邓小平, Dèng Xiǎopíng)

China's top leader from the late 1970s into the early 1990s. He launched the "reform and opening up" policy in 1978, which allowed private business, foreign investment, and special economic zones like Shenzhen. That policy is the starting point of China's modern economy.

Strategists and legends

Some of the most famous Chinese historical figures come from stories that mix history and legend. Everyone in China knows these three.

Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮, Zhūgě Liàng)

A strategist of the Three Kingdoms period (181-234) who served the state of Shu. In the novel 三国演义 (Sān Guó Yǎnyì, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms") he's the clever one who wins with tricks instead of numbers. In Chinese, calling someone a "Zhuge Liang" means they're brilliant at planning.

Cao Cao (曹操, Cáo Cāo)

The warlord (155-220) who controlled northern China at the end of the Han dynasty and laid the foundation of the Wei state. He was also a talented poet. The saying 说曹操，曹操到 (shuō Cáo Cāo, Cáo Cāo dào) means "speak of Cao Cao and he arrives," the Chinese version of "speak of the devil."

Hua Mulan (花木兰, Huā Mùlán)

The girl who dressed as a man to take her father's place in the army. She comes from a folk ballad written around the 5th or 6th century, not from historical records, so she may never have existed. The Disney films made her one of the best-known Chinese names in the world.

Modern writers, scientists, and thinkers

If you want to know who's on the "greatest Chinese people" lists that Chinese readers themselves would make, these five names come up every time.

Lu Xun (鲁迅, Lǔ Xùn)

The father of modern Chinese literature (1881-1936). He was one of the first writers to use everyday spoken Chinese instead of the old classical style, in stories like "Diary of a Madman" (1918) and "The True Story of Ah Q." His work is required reading in Chinese schools.

Mo Yan (莫言, Mò Yán)

Novelist who won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first Chinese citizen to do so. His pen name means "don't speak." His best-known novel, "Red Sorghum," was turned into a film by Zhang Yimou (more on him below).

Liu Cixin (刘慈欣, Liú Cíxīn)

Science fiction author of "The Three-Body Problem" (三体, Sān Tǐ), which in 2015 became the first novel by an Asian writer to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel. The trilogy has been adapted into a Netflix series, and it made Chinese sci-fi a global thing.

Tu Youyou (屠呦呦, Tú Yōuyōu)

Pharmaceutical scientist who won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Medicine for discovering 青蒿素 (qīnghāosù, "artemisinin"), a malaria drug that has saved millions of lives. She found it by studying old Chinese medical texts about the sweet wormwood plant.

Yuan Longping (袁隆平, Yuán Lóngpíng)

Agricultural scientist (1930-2021) known as the "father of hybrid rice." His high-yield rice varieties, developed in the 1970s, helped feed hundreds of millions of people in China and beyond. When he died, people across China left rice stalks at memorials.

Famous Chinese actors and entertainers

For most people outside China, this is where the famous names start. Two of them may be the most recognized Chinese faces on the planet.

Bruce Lee (李小龙, Lǐ Xiǎolóng)

Martial artist and actor (1940-1973), born in San Francisco and raised in Hong Kong. Films like "Enter the Dragon" made 功夫 (gōngfu, "kung fu") a worldwide craze. His Chinese name means "Little Dragon."

Jackie Chan (成龙, Chéng Lóng)

Hong Kong actor and stuntman, born 1954, famous for doing his own dangerous stunts and mixing comedy with martial arts. 成龙 is a stage name meaning "become a 龙 (lóng, dragon)"; his birth name is 陈港生 (Chén Gǎngshēng). Learn more about what the Chinese dragon symbolizes and you'll see why it was a good pick.

Gong Li (巩俐, Gǒng Lì)

Actress, born 1965, who starred in "Red Sorghum," "Raise the Red Lantern," and "Farewell My Concubine." She was the first mainland Chinese actress to become a global star, and she's still considered one of the country's finest.

Zhang Yimou (张艺谋, Zhāng Yìmóu)

Film director, born 1950, behind "Hero," "House of Flying Daggers," and "Raise the Red Lantern." He also directed the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, one of the most watched broadcasts in history.

Teresa Teng (邓丽君, Dèng Lìjūn)

Taiwanese singer (1953-1995) whose soft ballads were loved across the whole Chinese-speaking world, including in mainland China during the 1980s when her music was officially frowned upon. "The Moon Represents My Heart" (月亮代表我的心) is still sung at karaoke everywhere.

Jay Chou (周杰伦, Zhōu Jiélún)

Taiwanese singer-songwriter, born 1979, the biggest name in Mandopop since his 2000 debut. He mixes R&B and hip-hop with traditional Chinese instruments and lyrics, and his songs are a common way for learners to pick up vocabulary.

Athletes and business

The newest names on the list. All four became famous within the last 25 years, and all four are still talked about in Chinese news and social media every week.

Yao Ming (姚明, Yáo Míng)

The 2.29-meter (7 ft 6 in) center who played for the Houston Rockets from 2002 to 2011. He brought the NBA to a huge Chinese audience and was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. He now heads the Chinese Basketball Association.

Li Na (李娜, Lǐ Nà)

Tennis player who won the French Open in 2011 and the Australian Open in 2014, the first Grand Slam singles titles ever won by a player from Asia. Her wins set off a tennis boom in China, and she later became the first Asian player inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Eileen Gu (谷爱凌, Gǔ Àilíng)

Freestyle skier, born 2003 in San Francisco to a Chinese mother, who chose to compete for China. At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics she won two golds and a silver, becoming one of the most talked-about athletes in the country.

Jack Ma (马云, Mǎ Yún)

A former English teacher from Hangzhou who co-founded Alibaba in 1999, which grew into one of the largest e-commerce companies in the world. For years he was the best-known face of Chinese business abroad. His surname, 马 (mǎ), means "horse," which is why you'll sometimes see horse jokes about him online.

Who is the most famous Chinese person?

It depends on who you ask and where, and there's no official ranking. Over all of history, the answer is Confucius: his name has been known worldwide for centuries, and his ideas shaped not just China but Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.

If you're asking about who's most recognized around the world today, it's probably Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan. Ask a random person in Brazil or Nigeria to name a Chinese person, and one of those two comes up first. Inside China, names like Mao Zedong, Li Bai, and Yuan Longping would rank much higher.

How to say these names

Pinyin gets you close, but tones matter. 李 (Lǐ) with a falling-rising tone is the surname; say it with the wrong tone and you've said a different word. Mao (Máo) rises. Deng (Dèng) falls sharply.

Read our guide on how to pronounce Chinese names for the rules that trip up English speakers (Q, X, Zh, and the -i endings).
Type any name into the Chinese name pronunciation tool to hear it spoken.
Notice how often the same surnames repeat above: Li shows up three times. Our list of common Chinese surnames explains why a few family names cover most of the population.

Learn the names, then the words

Most of the names above are made of ordinary words: 小龙 is "little dragon," 明 is "bright," 云 is "cloud." A free Chenjin account lets you hear every linked word pronounced, save the ones you want as flashcards, and start reading graded stories that use them.

FAQ

Who are the most famous people in China?

Inside China, the names everyone knows are Confucius, Li Bai, Qin Shi Huang, Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Lu Xun, and Yuan Longping. In entertainment, Jackie Chan, Jay Chou, and Zhang Yimou are household names. For sports, Yao Ming and Eileen Gu.

Who is the greatest Chinese person in history?

Most lists put Confucius at the top, because his teachings shaped Chinese government, education, and family life for more than two thousand years. Qin Shi Huang, who unified China, and Sima Qian, who wrote its first great history, are usually close behind.

Who are the most famous Chinese actors?

Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan are the two best known worldwide. Gong Li is the most celebrated actress, and Jet Li, Donnie Yen, Zhang Ziyi, and Andy Lau are other names Western audiences often recognize.

Why do Chinese names sound different in English?

Some names were Latinized centuries ago by European missionaries. "Confucius" comes from 孔夫子 (Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kong"), and "Mencius" from 孟子 (Mèngzǐ). Others use older spelling systems or Cantonese pronunciation: "Sun Yat-sen" is the Cantonese version of 孙逸仙, and "Jackie Chan" uses the Cantonese sound of 陈. Modern names are usually written in pinyin, which is why you see Mao Zedong instead of the older Mao Tse-tung.