Cheng (surname)

Cheng (/tʃəŋ/) can be a transcription of one of several Chinese surnames. Since the syllable Cheng represents different sounds in Hanyu pinyin and the Wade–Giles systems of Chinese romanization, some ambiguity will exist as to which sound is represented by the letters "Cheng" if the romanisation and tone is not known. Also within each system of romanisation, each syllable can represent one of several different characters, as with any Chinese syllable.

In the pinyin system of romanization (usually used in China), the most common surnames romanized as Cheng are 程 and 成.

In names romanized in Wade–Giles (usually used in Taiwan), Cheng is most commonly a transcription of 鄭/郑 (pinyin Zhèng).

Further confusion arises because Wade–Giles often appears without the required apostrophes (which indicates aspiration), and thus some Wade–Giles names which are properly romanized Ch'eng (such as 程 pinyin Chéng) will appear as Cheng.

Notable people surnamed 程

• Cheng Bing, official of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period
• Cheng Pu, general serving under the warlord Sun Quan in the late Eastern Han dynasty
• Cheng Yu, official serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty
• Cheng Hong, spouse of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, an English professor at the Capital University of Economics and Business
• Cheng Qian, a Chinese military general in the late 1910s
• Brian Ching, an American-born Chinese football player
• Ch'eng Mao-yün, composer
• Ching Cheong (Cheng Xiang), Chinese journalist with the Singapore newspaper The Straits Times, imprisoned in China for five years on charges of espionage
• François Cheng, French writer, poet and calligrapher
• Henry Thia, Singaporean actor and comedian
• Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs Malacañang correspondent
• Woeser (Han name Cheng Wensa [程文萨]), Tibetan poet and essayist
• John S. Chen [程守宗], CEO of Blackberry

Notable people surnamed 成

• Cheng Dechen, general of the Chu state in the Spring and Autumn period

Notable people surnamed 鄭

• See Zheng (surname)

Others

• Ren-Chang Ching (1898–1986), botanist specialist of pteridophytes