Chinese surnames

蔡

cài · Cai

Order in the Hundred Family Surnames
No. 155
Ancestral seat (junwang)
济阳
Wikidata
Q1207872

In other languages

  • German Cai
  • English Cai
  • Spanish Cai
  • French Cai
  • Korean 차이
  • Russian Цай
  • Vietnamese Thái

Notable historical bearers

Deceased people recorded in Wikidata with this family name, ordered by how many Wikipedias cover them.

  • Cai Lun48 – 121

    Chinese official credited with inventing paper (died 121)

  • Cai Yuanpei1868 – 1940

    Chinese educator, Esperantist and the president of Peking University (1868-1940)

  • Cai Yan177 – 249

    3rd century Chinese poet and musician

  • Cai Yong133 – 192

    Chinese official and scholar (132-192)

  • Tsai E1882 – 1916

    Chinese politician (1882-1916)

  • Cai Xiang1012 – 1067

    Chinese calligrapher-architect (1012–1067)

  • Cai Chusheng1906 – 1968

    Chinese film director (1906-1968)

  • Cai Chang1900 – 1990

    Chinese politician (1900-1990)

  • Cai Tingkai1892 – 1968

    Chinese general (1892–1968)

  • Cai Hesen1895 – 1931

    Chinese politician (1895-1931)

  • Cai Jing1047 – 1126

    Grand Chancellor of Emperor Huizong of Norther Song Dynasty (1047-1126); one of the Six Thieves (traitors) of Song

  • Cai Mao? – 208

    Late 2nd/early 3rd century Han dynasty general

  • Sai On1682 – 1761

    Sanshikan of Ryukyu; Regent, instructor, and advisor to King Shō Kei (1682-1761)

  • Chua Lam1941 – 2025

    Singaporean Hong Kong writer (1941–2025)

Find printed genealogies

The Shanghai Library holds one of the largest collections of Chinese family genealogies (jiapu). Its genealogy platform lists each genealogy's title, ancestral place, founding ancestor, hall name and holding library. Search there by surname and your family's ancestral place.

Search 蔡 genealogies at the Shanghai Library ↗

Sources: the Hundred Family Surnames (public domain) with ancestral seats from the chinese-poetry dataset (MIT); spellings and people from Wikidata (CC0).