Xue () is the

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...

romanization of the

Chinese surname Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, and among overseas Chinese communities around the world such as Singapore and Malaysia. Written Chinese names begin with surnames, unlike the ...

薛 (Xuē). It is romanized as Hsüeh in Wade-Giles. In

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

and

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

it is usually romanized through its

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

pronunciation Sit. In

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

, it corresponds to Seol (설), in

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

to Setsu and in

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

to Tiết. in Indonesia and Netherlands, it is commonly spelled as Siek. According to the

2010 Chinese Census The 2010 Chinese census, officially the Sixth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China (中華人民共和國第六次全國人口普查), was conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China wi ...

, it is the 76th most common surname in China, a sharp decline from 48th in 1982. In a study by

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processe ...

Yuan Yida Yuan Yida () is a researcher from the Institute of Genetic and Developmental Biology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is a leading researcherPeople's Daily OnlineChina has 4100 meaningful surnames January 13, 2006. on Chinese surnames in m ...

on the distribution of Chinese surnames, people who carry the name Xue are dispersed throughout the country and is most heavily concentrated in

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

. It is the 68th name on the ''

Hundred Family Surnames The ''Hundred Family Surnames'' (), commonly known as ''Bai Jia Xing'', also translated as ''Hundreds of Chinese Surnames'', is a classic Chinese text composed of common Chinese surnames. An unknown author compiled the book during the Song dyn ...

'' poem.K. S. Tom.

989 Year 989 (Roman numerals, CMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Emperor Basil II uses his contingent of 6,000 Varangians to he ...

(1989). Echoes from Old China: Life, Legends and Lore of the Middle Kingdom.

University of Hawaii Press A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

. .

Origin

The surname traces back to the

State of Xue State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

in what is modern day

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

Yu the Great Yu the Great (大禹) was a legendary king in ancient China who was famed for his introduction of flood control, his establishment of the Xia dynasty which inaugurated dynastic rule in China, and his upright moral character. He figures prominen ...

, founding emperor of the

Xia dynasty The Xia dynasty () is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, the Xia dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great, after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors, gave the throne to him. In tradi ...

, bestowed upon his minister

Xi Zhong Xi Zhong (Chinese: ) was a legendary Xia dynasty minister claimed to have served Yu the Great credited in traditional Chinese sources with the invention of the chariot during the 2nd millennium BC. Modern archaeological evidence has not found ...

the title Marquis of Xue in gratitude for his invention of the

Chinese chariot The ancient Chinese chariot () was used as an attack and pursuit vehicle on the open fields and plains of ancient China from around 1200 BCE. Chariots also allowed military commanders a mobile platform from which to control troops while providi ...

; Xi Zhong's descendants subsequently bore Xue as their clan name.

Sinicized Sinicization, sinofication, sinification, or sinonization (from the prefix , 'Chinese, relating to China') is the process by which non-Chinese societies come under the influence of Chinese culture, particularly the language, societal norms, cul ...

descendants of various non-Han Chinese peoples also adopted Xue as their surname, including the Turkic Tiele

Xueyantuo The Xueyantuo were an ancient Tiele people, Tiele tribe and khaganate in Northeast Asia who were at one point vassals of the Göktürks, later aligning with the Tang dynasty against the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, Eastern Göktürks. Names Xue ...

tribe, the

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into the ...

Chigan clan and several

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

clans such as Sakda Hala, Sue Hala, Sunit Hala etc.

In literature

In the classical novel Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin, the Xue family is one of the four noble families of Jinling. The socially graceful debutante Xue Baochai, a literary embodiment of ideal traditional Chinese femininity, is one of the principal characters in the novel.

Notable people with this surname (薛)

Academics and science

* Xue Juzheng, Song Dynasty historian and scholar * Xue Muqiao, Chinese economist

Arts, media and entertainment

* Xue Fei, former

China Central Television China Central Television (CCTV) is a Chinese state- and political party-owned broadcaster controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its 50 different channels broadcast a variety of programing to more than one billion viewers in six lan ...

news anchor * Xue Ji, Tang dynasty calligrapher * Nancy Sit Ka Yin, Hong Kong actress *

Xue Jiye Xue Jiye (; born in 1965 in Dalian, Liaoning) is a Chinese painter and sculptor. He graduated from Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in 1988 and currently lives and works in Beijing. Xue Jiye and his work have been featured in various art exhibiti ...

, Chinese painter and sculptor *

Xue Jinghua Xue Jinghua (; born October 7, 1946) is a Chinese ballerina who was cast in the now internationally well-known Red Detachment of Women of the National Ballet of China as Wu Qinghua, the heroine of the ballet for which she became a ''prima balle ...

, the ''prima ballerina'' of the ballet Red Detachment of Women * Fiona Sit Hoi Kei, Hong Kong actress/singer * Xue Tao, Tang dynasty poet * Xue Xiaolu, Chinese director and screenwriter * Xue Xinran, British-Chinese broadcaster, journalist and author *

Xue Yongjun Xue () is the pinyin romanization of the Chinese surname 薛 (Xuē). It is romanized as Hsüeh in Wade-Giles. In Hong Kong and Macau it is usually romanized through its Cantonese pronunciation Sit. In Korean, it corresponds to Seol (설), in Jap ...

, Chinese artist * Xue Zhi Qian ( Joker Xue), Chinese Singer and actor *

Francis Hsueh and Steven Hahn Francis Hsueh and Steven Hahn (both born in October 1973) are a film-making duo based in New York City. Hsueh and Hahn were former corporate lawyers from large New York firms who met in 2004 after becoming solo practitioners. While working on the ...

, film-making duo * Amy Sit Ying Yi, Hong Kong actress

Athletics

Xue Bing Xue Bing (薛冰, born 5 January 1966) is a Chinese sprint canoer who competed in the late 1980s. At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of S ...

, Chinese canoe sprinter *

Xue Changrui Xue Changrui (; born 31 May 1991) is a Chinese track and field athlete who competes in the pole vault. His personal best is 5.82 m. He was the champion at the Asian Athletics Championships in 2013 and at the Asian Games in 2014. Career ...

, Chinese pole vaulter, Asian Champion 2013 *

Xue Chen Xue Chen (; born 18 February 1989 in Fuzhou, Fujian) is a Chinese beach volleyball player, measuring in height. Her hometown is Fuzhou, but she trains in Sanya, Hainan. She has also trained in California under coach Dane Selznick. She comp ...

, Chinese professional beach volleyball player *

Xue Haifeng Xue Haifeng (, born January 13, 1980, in Ili, Xinjiang, People's Republic of China) is an archer from the People's Republic of China. 2004 Summer Olympics Xue competed for China at the 2004 Summer Olympics in men's individual archery. He w ...

, archer who competed in the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics * Xue Juan, Chinese javelin thrower *

Xue Ming Xue Ming (; born 23 February 1987 in Beijing) is a female Chinese people, Chinese volleyball player. She was part of the gold medal winning team at the 2005 Asian Championship. Awards Individuals * ''2009 Montreux Volley Masters#Awards, 2009 M ...

, Chinese volleyball player *

Xue Ya'nan Xue Ya'nan () is a professional Chinese footballer who currently plays as a defensive midfielder or full-back for Dalian LFTZ Huayi. Club career Xue Ya'nan started his career with Dalian Shide and was loaned out to their youth team called Dal ...

, Chinese footballer * Xue Yuyang, Chinese basketball player

Business

* Xue Manzi (Charles Xue), Chinese American entrepreneur, son of

Xue Zizheng Xue Zizheng (; 1905 - 1980) was a Chinese politician who served as deputy head of the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) between 1958 and 1966. Biography Xue was born in Lirang Town of L ...

ShaoLan Hsueh ShaoLan Hsueh (also known as Heidi Hsueh; ) is a London-based Taiwanese author, designer, venture capitalist, tech entrepreneur, podcast host, speaker, and the creator of Chinese language learning system '' Chineasy''. As a college undergraduat ...

, entrepreneur born in Taiwan who developed a new method to teach Chinese characters. *

Albino SyCip Albino Z. SyCip (last name also spelled as SycipFlavier, Juan M., "Albino Z. Sycip", ''Doctor to the Barrios'', page 6.) (c. 1888May 2, 1978) was a Chinese Filipino financier of Fujianese origin. He was known as the "Dean of Philippine Banking". ...

(Xue Minlao), co-founder of Filipino bank, Chinabank *

Alfonso SyCip Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

(Xue Fenshi) Chairman, Philippine Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, 1934–41.

Criminals

Sek Kim Wah The Andrew Road triple murders was a case of robbery turned triple murder in a bungalow at Andrew Road, Singapore, in 1983. The robbery was committed by two young men armed with a rifle and knife. During the robbery, one of the robbers murdered ...

(1964–1988), Singaporean convicted serial killer who was sentenced to death for five murders in Singapore * Seet Cher Hng, Singaporean convicted murderer who killed his wife in 2018

Government, politics, law and military

Hsueh Hsiang-chuan Hsueh Hsiang-chuan (; born 12 December 1944) is a Taiwanese politician. He was the Secretary-General of the Executive Yuan in 2008-2009. Early life Hsueh obtained his doctoral degree in nutritional biochemistry from University of Wisconsin&nda ...

(1944-), politician in Taiwan *

Hsueh Jui-yuan Hsueh Jui-yuan () is a Taiwanese physician who has served as the vice minister of Ministry of Health and Welfare (Taiwan), Health and Welfare since August 2017 until July 18 2022. He currently serves as the Minister of Health and Welfare since J ...

, Vice Minister of Health and Welfare *

Hsueh Ling Hsueh Ling (; born in 1954) is a member of the Democratic Progressive Party who is in the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan.Shih, Hsiu-chuan.Free-for-all breaks out in legislature" ''Taipei Times The ''Taipei Times'' is the only printed daily ...

(1954-), member of the

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...

, in Taiwan *

Xue Daoheng Xue () is the pinyin romanization of the Chinese surname 薛 (Xuē). It is romanized as Hsüeh in Wade-Giles. In Hong Kong and Macau it is usually romanized through its Cantonese pronunciation Sit. In Korean, it corresponds to Seol (설), in Jap ...

, official in Northern Qi, Northern Zhou and

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...

* Xue E, Tang dynasty general, grandson of Xue Rengui *

Xue Feng Xue Feng (; born February 6, 1965), is a Chinese American geologist who worked for IHS Inc. when he was arrested by the Beijing State Security Bureau during a business trip to China. He was subsequently tortured, charged with espionage, and sent ...

, American geologist held in China on espionage charges *

Xue Fucheng Xue Fucheng or Hsieh Fucheng (12 April 1838 – 21 July 1894) was a Chinese diplomat of the Qing dynasty in the late 19th century. Born in Wuxi, Jiangsu to a literati family. Late Qing dynasty writer/essayist, diplomat to England, France, Be ...

, Qing dynasty

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

* Xue Hanqin, judge at International Court of Justice * Xue Ji,

Tang dynasty chancellor The chancellor () was a semi-formally designated office position for a number of high-level officials at one time during the Tang dynasty of China. This list also includes chancellors of the short-lived Wu Zhou dynasty, which is typically treat ...

, great-grandson of

* Xue Ju, founding emperor of a short-lived state of Qin at the end of the

* Xue Ping, Tang dynasty general, son of Xue Song * Hsueh Chi, Taiwanese economist and politician * Xue Ne, early Tang dynasty general, son of Xue Rengui, * Xue Rengao, emperor of the short-lived state of Qin before surrendering to the founder of the Tang dynasty, Emperor Taizong of Tang * Xue Rengui, early Tang dynasty general, most known for his campaigns against Goguryeo, the Western Turkic Khaganate, and the Tibetan Empire * Xue Song, Tang dynasty general, grandson of Xue Rengui *

Xue Wanche Xue () is the pinyin romanization of the Chinese surname 薛 (Xuē). It is romanized as Hsüeh in Wade-Giles. In Hong Kong and Macau it is usually romanized through its Cantonese pronunciation Sit. In Korean, it corresponds to Seol (설), in Jap ...

, early Tang dynasty general * Xue Wenjie, Min official * Xue Xu,

Eastern Wu Wu ( Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' <

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in h ...

official, son of Xue Zong *

Xue Yiju Xue Yiju (; died May 25, 912''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 268.Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calendar ...

, Tang dynasty and Later Liang dynasty chancellor * Xue Ying,

Eastern Wu Wu ( Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' <

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in h ...

official, son of Xue Zong * Xue Yuanchao,

* Xue Yue, Kuomintang army general during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War *

, former Deputy Head of the United Front Work Department * Xue Zong, Minister of State of

Eastern Wu Wu ( Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' <

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in h ...

during the Three Kingdoms * Alfred Sit Wing Hang, former Secretary for Innovation and Technology in

* Kingsley Sit Ho Yin, Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong.

Fiction

* Xue Baochai, one of the protagonists of the classic Chinese novel '' Dream of the Red Chamber''

Notes

References

{{surname Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames