The meaning of the character used in the Lai (賴) surname is "depend on; trust in; rely on".
He was conferred the heritable title of Hou (侯) or Marquis to rule over a territory which is approximately in the northeast of the present day Baoxin town (包信鎮) in Xi Xian (息縣) of Henan province.
Marquis Shu Ying and his succeeding descendants continued to rule the State of Lai well until the year 538 B.C for a total of 14 generations when it was conquered by King Ling of Chu (reign 540–529 BC).
Many Lais were dispersed to the south during their defeat by the Chu state; some changed their surname to escape persecution.
The largest Lai (賴) clans are in China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and Philippines .