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 Chigan ( fa, چيگان, also Romanized as Chīgān; also known as Chegān and Jīgān) is a village in Varzaq-e Jonubi Rural District, in the Central District of Faridan County, Isfahan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic R ...

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 ''Dream of the Red Chamber'' (''Honglou Meng'') or ''The Story of the Stone'' (''Shitou Ji'') is a novel composed by Cao Xueqin in the middle of the 18th century. One of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, it is known for ...

Cao Xueqin Cáo Xuěqín ( ; ); (4 April 1710 — 10 June 1765)Briggs, Asa (ed.) (1989) ''The Longman Encyclopedia'', Longman, was a Chinese writer during the Qing dynasty. He is best known as the author of ''Dream of the Red Chamber'', one of the Four G ...

, the Xue family is one of the four noble families of

Jinling Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

. The socially graceful debutante

Xue Baochai Xue Baochai (, and her surname is a homophone with "Snow", rendered Precious Virtue in Chi-chen Wang's translation) is one of the principal characters in the classic 18th century Chinese novel ''Dream of the Red Chamber''. Described as extremely be ...

, 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 Xue Juzheng ( – 12 July 981; courtesy name Ziping) was a scholar-official who successively served the Later Jin (Five Dynasties), Later Jin, Later Han (Five Dynasties), Later Han, Later Zhou and Song dynasty, Song dynasties. He was one of the ...

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

and

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

Xue Muqiao Xue Muqiao (; 25 October 1904 – 22 July 2005) was an eminent Chinese economist and politician. He was instrumental in introducing and implementing economic reforms that transformed China into a socialist market economy by participating in the ...

, 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 Xue Ji (; 649 – July 29, 713), courtesy name Sitong (嗣通), was a Chinese calligrapher, painter, and politician of the Tang dynasty, briefly serving as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Ruizong. He was considered one of the four greatest ...

, Tang dynasty calligrapher * Nancy Sit Ka Yin, Hong Kong actress * Xue Jiye, 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 Xue Tao (, c770–832), courtesy name Hongdu (洪度/宏度) was a Chinese poet and courtesan of the Tang dynasty. She was one of the most famous women poets of Tang poetry, along with Yu Xuanji and Li Ye. Life Xue Tao was the daughter of ...

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

poet *

Xue Xiaolu Xue Xiaolu is a Chinese film director and screenwriter. She is considered one of the top Chinese female directors''.'' Her first major feature was ''Ocean Heaven'', (2010) which stars Jet Li, followed by '' Finding Mr. Right'' (2013) starring Tan ...

, Chinese director and screenwriter *

Xue Xinran Xuē Xīnrán (, pen name ''Xinran'', born in Beijing in 1958) is a British-Chinese journalist, author, speaker, and advocate for women's issues. She was a popular radio personality in China with a call-in program named "Words on the Night Br ...

, British-Chinese broadcaster, journalist and author * Xue Yongjun, Chinese artist * Xue Zhi Qian (

Joker Xue Joker Xue (, born 17 July 1983) is a Chinese singer-songwriter and record producer. Formerly known as Jacky Xue, Xue is known for his hit songs and stage charisma with his signature musical style. Since his 2006 debut, Xue has produced a string ...

), Chinese Singer and actor * Francis Hsueh and Steven Hahn, film-making duo * Amy Sit Ying Yi, Hong Kong actress

Athletics

* Xue Bing, Chinese

canoe sprint Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race canoes or kayaks on calm water. Overview Race categories vary by the number of athletes in the boat, the length of the course, and whether the boat is a canoe or kayak. Canoe sprints are so ...

er *

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, 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 throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...

er *

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 Xue Yuyang (; born October 4, 1982) is a Chinese retired professional basketball player. Xue was selected 57th overall in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks, who traded the pick to the Denver Nuggets. Professional career NBA draft In 20 ...

, Chinese basketball player

Business

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

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 Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

who developed a new method to teach

Chinese characters Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...

. *

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 (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 A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

who was

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

for five murders in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Seet Cher Hng On 19 July 2018, a 56-year-old woman named Low Hwee Geok (刘惠玉 Líu Huìyù), also known as Michelle Low, was attacked and stabbed at the carpark area of ITE College Central. The attacker, who was Low's ex-husband Seet Cher Hng (薛泽元 Xu ...

, 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

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 (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

* Xue Daoheng, official in

Northern Qi Qi, known as the Northern Qi (), Later Qi (後齊) or Gao Qi (高齊) in historiography, was a Chinese imperial dynasty and one of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It ruled the eastern part of northern China ...

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern dynasties of China's Northern and Southern dynasties period, it succeeded the Western Wei dynasty and ...

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 Xue E (薛崿) was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, briefly ruling Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, then headquartered in modern Anyang, Henan) after the death of his brother Xue Song. Nothing is known about Xue E's career under his brother or ...

general, grandson of

Xue Rengui Xue Rengui (; 614 – 24 March 683), formal name Xue Li (薛礼) but went by the courtesy name of Rengui, was a Chinese military general during the early Tang Dynasty. He is one of the most well-known military generals of his time due to his hum ...

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 The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

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 Xue Hanqin (; born 15 September 1955) is a Chinese jurist at the International Court of Justice. On 29 June 2010, she was elected to fill the vacancy created by Shi Jiuyong's resignation on 28 May 2010. She is one of three female judges serving ...

, judge at

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

, Tang dynasty chancellor, great-grandson of Xue Daoheng *

Xue Ju Xue Ju () (died 618), formally Emperor Wu (武皇帝, "Martial"), was the founding emperor of a short-lived state of Qin at the end of the Chinese dynasty Sui Dynasty, whose state was eventually destroyed by the Tang Dynasty. He rose against Sui ...

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

Xue Ping Xue Ping (薛平) (c. 753? – February 25, 832''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 17, part 2.), courtesy name Tantu (坦途), formally the Duke of Han (韓公), was a general of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, whose father Xue Song ruled Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, ...

general, son of

Xue Song Xue Song () (died 773), formally the Prince of Pingyang (), was a general of the Chinese rebel state Yan, who later submitted to and became a general of Tang Dynasty, from which Yan had rebelled. As was in the case of several other Yan generals ...

* Hsueh Chi, Taiwanese economist and politician *

Xue Ne Xue Ne (, 649–720, courtesy name 慎言 ''Shènyán'', formally Duke Zhaoding of Pingyang 平陽昭定公), was a Chinese military general and politician of the Tang dynasty and of Wu Zetian's Zhou dynasty, serving as a chancellor and major gen ...

, early

general, son of

, *

Xue Rengao Xue Rengao (; died 618), also known as Xue Renguo (),The ''Old Book of Tang'' and the ''New Book of Tang'' both gave his name as Xue Rengao, but the ''Zizhi Tongjian'' gave his name as Xue Renguo. was an emperor of the short-lived state of Qin, ...

, emperor of the short-lived state of Qin before surrendering to the founder of the

Emperor Taizong of Tang Emperor Taizong of Tang (28January 59810July 649), previously Prince of Qin, personal name Li Shimin, was the second emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. He is traditionally regarded as a co-founder of the dynasty ...

, early

general, most known for his campaigns against

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled most ...

, the

Western Turkic Khaganate The Western Turkic Khaganate () or Onoq Khaganate ( otk, 𐰆𐰣:𐰸:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, On oq budun, Ten arrow people) was a Turkic khaganate in Eurasia, formed as a result of the wars in the beginning of the 7th century (593–603 CE) after t ...

, and the

Tibetan Empire The Tibetan Empire (, ; ) was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau, formed as a result of imperial expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king, Songtsen Gampo, in the 7th century. The empire further expanded under the 38 ...

general, grandson of

* Xue Wanche, early

general * Xue Wenjie, Min (Ten Kingdoms), Min official * Xue Xu, Eastern Wu official, son of Xue Zong * Xue Yiju, Chancellor of the Tang dynasty, Tang dynasty and Later Liang dynasty chancellor * Xue Ying, Eastern Wu official, son of Xue Zong * Xue Yuanchao, Tang dynasty chancellor * Xue Yue, Kuomintang army general during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War * Xue Zizheng, former Deputy Head of the United Front Work Department * Xue Zong, Minister of State of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms * Alfred Sit, Alfred Sit Wing Hang, former Secretary for Innovation and Technology in

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