The Cais are said to be the descendants of the 5th son of of the Zhou Dynasty , Ji Du. Ji Du was awarded the title of of the , and he was known as Cai Shudu . Together with Guan Shu and Huo Shu, they were known as the Three Guards. When King Wu died, his son was too young and his uncle, the Duke of Zhou, became regent. Seeing that the power of the Duke of Zhou was increasing, the Three Guards got jealous and rebelled against Zhou together with Wu Geng. The Duke of Zhou suppressed the rebellion, and Cai Shu was exiled. King Cheng reestablished Cai Shu’s son Wu as the Duke of Cai. Some 600 years later in the Warring States Period, the conquered Cai in 447 BC and was itself conquered by the which, in turn, formed the , China's first empire. With the spread of family names to all social classes in the new empire, many people of the former state of Cai began to bear it as a surname.
The Cais descendants have undertaken two major migrations. During the Huang Chao Rebellion at the end of the Tang Dynasty , the Cai clan migrated to Guangdong and Fujian provinces. Another later migration occurred when Ming Dynasty loyalist Koxinga moved military officials surnamed Cai and their families to Taiwan in the 17th century. As a result, the surname is far more common in these areas and in areas settled by their descendants than in other parts of China.
Transliteration and romanization
Cai is written the same in both and Chinese characters.
In , the surname is as Cài in pinyin and Tongyong Pinyin, Ts'ai in Wade-Giles, and Tsay in Gwoyeu Romatzyh. In Minnan or , it is Chhoà in Pe?h-oē-jī. In , it is Coi3 in Jyutping and Choi in . . Koreans use Chinese-derived family names and in , Cai is ? in Hangul, Chae in , and Ch'ae in McCune-Reischauer. also use Chinese-derived family names and in , it is Thái or Sái. do not use Chinese family names but for Chinese in Japan who carry the name, it is さい in Hiragana and Sai in the .
Cai is as Cai in the People's Republic of China, Tsai in the Republic of China , and Choi or Choy in Hong Kong. In Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei, the most common forms are Chua for and speakers, Chai for speakers, and Choi for speakers. In Indonesia it is usually romanized as Tjoa and in the Philippines it is Chua, Cua, or the form Tuason.
Other variations include Chye, Coi, Toy, and Tsoi.
In addition, some of the Cais who resided in the Philippines adopted Spanish names to avoid persecution by the Spanish rulers during the Philippines' from the early 16th to late 19th century. Examples of these are Mercado, which means "Market" in Spanish and was adopted by Domingo Lam-Co , and Rizal, which was adopted by Domingo Lam-Co's great-grandson, Francisco Mercado .
Prominent people surnamed Cai
* Cai Cheng, a Chinese politician
* Cai Chusheng, an early Chinese film director
* Cai E, a Chinese revolutionary and warlord in early 20th century
* Cai Fu, a a character in the Chinese literature classic the ''Water Margin''
* Cai Guo-Qiang, a Chinese contemporary artist and curator.
* , an American academic
* Cai He, an officer in the Three Kingdoms period, brother of Cai Zhong and cousin of Cai Mao
* Cai Jing, a Song Dynasty official and a character in the Chinese literature classic the ''Water Margin''
* , the wife of Three Kingdoms period naval officer Huang Zu
* Cai Lun, the inventor of paper in the Han Dynasty
* Cai Mao, a naval officer in the Three Kingdoms period who served under Liu Biao, cousin of Cai He and Cai Zhong
* Cai Qing, a a character in the Chinese literature classic the ''Water Margin''
* Cai Shangjun, a Chinese film director and screenwriter
* Cai Tingkai, a Chinese general during the Republican era
* Cai Wen, a Chinese academic
* Cai Wenji, a Han Dynasty poet and composer also known as Cai Yan, daughter of scholar Cai Yong
* Cai Xiang, a calligrapher, scholar, official and poet during the Song dynasty also known as Cai Zhonghui
* Cai Xitao, a Chinese botanist
* Cai Yong, a Han Dyansty scholar and father of Cai Wenji
* Cai Yuanpei, a chancellor of Peking University and first president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
* Cai Yun, a Chinese badminton player
* Cai Zhong, an officer in the Three Kingdoms period, brother of Cai He and cousin of Cai Mao
* Cai Zhuohua, a Chinese Christian preacher
* Chae Jung An , a Korean actress
* , a Hong Kong actress
* , a Hong Kong singer, member of the Twins duo
* Choi Chi-sum, a Hong Kong evangelist
* , a Macanese government minister
* , an English creative director and designer for shoemaker Jimmy Choo Ltd
* , an Australian actress, TV presenter, and Australia Day Ambassador
* , a North Borneo-born Singaporean World War II heroine
* , a novelist and a member of Order of Canada
* , an American Methodist bishop
* , a Filipino basketball coach
* , a United States-based Chinese Filipino academic and author
* , a Filipino model
* , a Chinese Filipino Fashion Model
* Chua Ek Kay, a Singaporean artist
* , a Canadian film director, actor, and writer
* , a Singaporean singer
* Chua Lam, a Singaporean-born Hong Kong columnist and movie producer
* , a bodybuilder from Singapore
* , a Filipino murder victim
* , a Singaporean bodybuilder
* Chua Phung Kim, a Singaporean weightlifter
* , a Singapore-born Asian television executive
* Chua Sock Koong, a Singaporean telecom executive
* Chua Jui Meng, a Malaysian health minister and prominent politician.
* Chua Soi Lek, a Malaysian health minister and prominent politician.
* , a Singaporean singer
* Tjoa Ing Hwie or Tjoa Jien Hwie, the birth name of Surya Wonowidjojo, founder of Gudang Garam
* Tjoa, Marga, the real name of Indonesian writer Marga T
* Tjoa To Hing, the birth name of Indonesian businessman Rachman Halim
* , an American actress and television host
* Tsai Chia-Hsin, a Taiwanese badminton player
* Tsai Chih-chieh, a Taiwanese footballer
* , a Taiwanese popular music singer
* Tsai Hui-kai, a Taiwanese footballer
* Tsai Ing-wen, a former Vice Premier of the Republic of China
* , an American academic
* , a Taiwanese popular music singer
* , an American chef and host of television cooking shows
* Tsai Ming-liang, a Taiwanese movie director
* Tsai Rong Tsang, a Taiwanese tea master
* Tsai Wan-lin, a Taiwanese billionaire and founder of Cathay Life Insurance Company
* , a Taiwanese singer whose real name is Tsai Min-you
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