According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, surnames in Europe originated in the 11th century and became fixed by the 16th, whereas the Chinese already had the custom of passing along the family name as early as the 4th century BC.
根據大英百科全書，歐美的姓氏使用，始於十一世紀，到十六世紀定型；中國自公元前四世紀就有了世襲姓的習俗。