Xie (; ) is a Chinese-language surname. lt is usually romanized as "Hsieh" in Taiwan. It is estimated that there are more than ten million people with this surname, most of whom live in Taiwan, Southern China, South East Asia, America, Europe and Africa. It is particularly common in Taiwan where it is the 13th most common surname in 2016. It is also very common in the east Asian diaspora which historically tended to have disproportionately emigrated out of southern China. A 2013 study found that Xie was the 23rd most common surname in China, with 0.79% of the population having this surname.Tanghe County and Taikang County of Henan Province: the origin of surname Xie
, en.hnta.cn. In 2019 it was again the 23rd most common surname in mainland China. Most Xie are from southern China. It is the 34th name on the '' Hundred Family Surnames'' poem. The surname originated in two major branches: during the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors period, and near the end of the Western Zhou dynasty. It was a prominent aristocratic clan in the Eastern Jin dynasty of China. The hometown of the Xie is Kaifeng, Henan Province.

Variations

The spelling of the same

Chinese character Chinese characters are logographs used to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represent the only on ...

using

Wade–Giles Wade–Giles ( ) is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from the system produced by Thomas Francis Wade during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert Giles's '' A Chinese–English Dictionary'' ...

romanization is Hsieh. The spelling "Hsieh" is most commonly used in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

and in older romanizations, particularly by older generations of the Chinese and Taiwanese

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

, for instance in the United States. "Hsieh" has been often phonologically adapted to "Shay" in English-speaking society, for instance in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, as a result of

anglicisation Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

. Other variations are pronounced "Sh'eh" and the spelling is sometimes modified to Shieh. The

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

spelling of the same Chinese character is Tse or Tze and the Taishanese spelling of the same Chinese character is Dea, Der, Dare, or Dear. The Teochew and

Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...

spelling of the same Chinese character are Chia, Shia, Cheah, or Sia. In

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, the name is most commonly Chia, although Cheah, Seah, Sia, Shia, Cha, Tse, Chay, etc. can also be found. During the Chinese diaspora, the region was administered by

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

clerks, who knew little about Chinese dialects, often had to find their own romanizations. As a result, the variations are non-exhaustive. In the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, the name is also spelled as Sese (which also means thank you in Kapampangan, the language in Pampanga, where the first Xie settled), which is also a variation in the rest of the ASEAN region, Taiwan, and South

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

. In

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, the name is also spelt as Tjhia or Tjia. In East Timor, as a legacy of Portuguese colonialism and

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...

, Xie is also produced as Tchia, Tchea, Tsia, Tcha, and Tjea. The Vietnamese version is Tạ. In the United States, the name is sometimes spelled as Jair and Zia. Other variations of the surname include Shea and Shei.

Variation table

Origins and history

During the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors period, the Xie were believed to be the descendants of Yuyang, son of the Yellow Emperor. Yuyang's descendants founded ten states successively, the State of Xie (谢) first, and its occupants becoming the first Xie.Chinese surname history: Xie
peopledaily.com Retrieved 2011-07-11. For the purpose of reciprocating his mother's upbringing,

King Xuan of Zhou __NOTOC__ King Xuan of Zhou, personal name Ji Jing, was king of the Chinese Zhou dynasty; his reign has been reconstructed to be 827/25782 BC. He worked to restore royal authority after the Gonghe Regency. He fought the "Western Barbarians" ...

(r. 827 – 782 BCE) of the

Western Zhou The Western Zhou ( zh, c=西周, p=Xīzhōu; 771 BC) was a period of Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Zhou dynasty. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty at the Battle of Muye and ended in 77 ...

dynasty granted the former State of Xie, in modern Nanyang,

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

province, to his maternal uncle Shen Boxi, the Marquess of Shen, whose line claimed descent from the semi-mythological character Bo Yi. The people of Xie later adopted the name of the state as their surname. In the Eastern Jin dynasty, the Xie were among the cluster of noble clans who fled to the south in the wake of the fall of Chang'an, dominating the court thereafter.Clans in the Eastern Jin
chinaknowledge.de The legend has it that it derived from Yellow Emperor Tribe: almost vanished in “Xia, Shang, Zhou” dynasty. The legend has it that it derived from Ren Clan in Xie State, descendant of Yellow Emperor, It takes the State name as Clan. Its land was manor of Shen Bo until the Zhou dynasty got perished, the descendant of Shen Bo took the State name as Clan. Derived from Yan Emperor Tribe: the Ancestor Shen Bo is generally acknowledged by contemporary Xie Clan. Derived from Jiang Clan, came from the inherited manor Xie for the descendant of Yan Emperor and Shen Bo, it takes the State name as Clan. The royal descendant of State Shen who takes the place name as Clan, called Xie Clan, its so-called Henan Xie Clan, known as Xie Clan Orthodox in history. Most of the contemporary Xie Clan people respects Shen Bo as the first ancestor. Changed into Zhile Clan. The litterateur Xie Yan in the late Sui dynasty and early Tang dynasty (?–643), changed Xie into Zhi Le, his grandfather Xiao Zheng was emperor's regular attendant of horse riding, restored to Xie after the Sui dynasty. The compound surname of Xieqiu, derived from Ji Clan, came from the manor Xie Shui which was granted by King Xuan for his concubine, it takes the densely populated place as the Clan. In the Western Zhou dynasty, the King Xuan of Ji Jing once granted his concubine with Xie Shui waterfront in the South-West of Luoyang. After the King Ping of Ji Yijiu transferred to Luoyang, these clan people also moved to Gongqiu (old Yunzhou, present-day Ningyang, Shandong). In memory of the old house, the concubine's son for King Xuan also call the newly granted Gongqiu as Xie Qiu, after that, some Clan people take the densely populated place Xie Qiu as Clan, called Xie Qiu Clan, there was Xie Qiu Zhang at Lu State in the Spring and Autumn period.

Famous people with the surname Xie

Xie clan of Chen commandery

* Xie An (謝安) (320–385), statesman and

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

of the Jin dynasty * Xie Daoyun (謝道韫) (340–399), Jin dynasty scholar, poet and debater * Xie Xuan (謝玄) (343–388), Duke of Kangle, Jin dynasty general * Xie Lingyun (謝靈運) (385–433), Duke of Kangle, Jin dynasty poet *Empress Xie Fanjing (謝梵境), Empress of the Liu Song dynasty * Xie He (謝赫), Liu Song and

Southern Qi Qi, known in historiography as the Southern Qi ( or ) or Xiao Qi (), was a Chinese imperial dynasty and the second of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It followed the Liu Song dynasty and was succee ...

writer, art historian and critic.

Politics and military

* Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), former

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

mayor, Premier of the Republic of China, and DPP's candidate for the 2008 ROC presidency * Hsieh Fa-dah (謝發達) (born 1950), Vice Minister of Economic Affairs of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

(2006–2008) * Hsieh Shou-shing (謝曉星) (born 1950), Minister of Atomic Energy Council of the

* Hsieh Tung-min (謝東閔) (1908–2001),

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

politician and first native of Taiwan to become Vice-President of the

(Taiwan) * Xie Fei (謝飛) (1913–2013), Chinese revolutionary, participant in the

Long March The Long March ( zh, s=长征, p=Chángzhēng, l=Long Expedition) was a military retreat by the Chinese Red Army and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from advancing Kuomintang forces during the Chinese Civil War, occurring between October 1934 and ...

and third wife of Liu Shaoqi * Xie Fuzhi (谢富治) (1909–1972),

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

military commander and political commissar * Xie Jinyuan (謝晉元), Commander of the Defense of Sihang Warehouse in the National Revolutionary Army of China during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

* You Xie (謝盛友), CSU-political leader, German journalist and author of Chinese origin * Xie Jianshun, Taiwanese intersex soldier * Helen Zia, Asian-American journalist and activist * Chia Yong Yong (谢邕邕), Singaporean lawyer and Member of Parliament * Chia Thye Poh (谢太宝), Singaporean politician and former political prisoner * Steve Chia (谢镜丰) (born 1970), Singaporean politician * Seah Kian Peng (謝健平) (born 1961), Singaporean unionist and Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore

Criminals

* Chia Teck Leng, Singaporean white-collar criminal * Chia Kee Chen, Singaporean murderer

Entertainment and business

* Xie Jin (谢晋) (1923–2008), film director * Tse Kwan Ho, (謝君豪) Actor of film, stage, and television * Xie Na, (谢娜) Host, singer, actress * Michael Tse (謝天華), Hong Kong actor * Ming Hsieh (謝明), billionaire & founder of Cogent Systems and Fulgent Genetics, namesake of

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

's Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering * Nicholas Tse (謝霆鋒),

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

–based singer and actor * Patrick Tse (謝賢), actor, producer, screenwriter and director in

cinema. * Kenneth Tse (謝德骥), classical saxophone soloist * Kay Tse (謝安琪), Hong Kong singer * Xie Shaoguang (谢韶光), Singapore television actor * Fiona Xie (谢宛谕), Singaporean television actress * Amber Chia (谢麗萍), Malaysian model *

Beau Sia Beaufort Benjamin Sia (, born 1976) is an American Poetry slam, slam poet. Life and career Sia was born in Ohio. He is of Chinese-Filipino descent. Raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Sia discovered spoken word poetry on MTV as a teenager. When ...

(謝福源), Chinese-American slam poet. * Tony Hsieh (), Zappos.com CEO * Timothy Tau Hsieh (謝韜), writer, filmmaker and law professor (his penname is Timothy Tau) * Jeffrey Cheah (謝富年), Founder and chairman of The Sunway Group of Companies in Malaysia. * Dhanin Chearavanont (谢国民), CEO of CP Group * William Soeryadjaya (謝建隆), co-founder of Astra International * Jeannie Hsieh, Taiwanese singer-songwriter, dancer, actress, and model * Janet Hsieh, Taiwanese American television host * Jade Seah (谢美玉) (born 1983), Singaporean model and actress * Nelson Chia (谢燊杰), Singaporean theater director * Yvonne Chia (谢姚依雯) (born 1953), Malaysian CEO * Eric Chia (谢英福), Malaysian businessman * Kimberly Chia (谢静仪), Singaporean actress * Michelle Chia (谢韵仪) (born 1975), Singaporean actress * Xie Tian (谢添), Chinese actor and director

Literature and art

* Xie Jin (謝縉) (1369–1415), Ming dynasty landscape painter and calligrapher * Dr. Cheah Thien Soong,

n contemporary ink-painting artist * Xie Jun (谢军) (born 1970), two-time Women's World Chess Champion * Xie Zhe-Qing (謝哲青) (born 1973), Taiwanese literature and history scholar, travel writer * Timothy Tau Hsieh (謝韜) - novelist, short story writer, screenwriter & filmmaker (his penname is Timothy Tau) * Helen Zia - author, activist, journalist & writer * Chris Tse (New Zealand writer) (born 1982), New Zealand poet, short story writer and editor * Chris Tse (Canadian poet) (born 1989), Canadian spoken-word poet, motivational speaker, and hip hop artist

Sports

* Xie Limei (谢荔梅), Chinese triple jumper * Xie Siyi (谢思埸), diver from the People's Republic of China *

Xie Xingfang Xie Xingfang (born September 8, 1981) is a retired Chinese badminton player from Guangzhou, Guangdong. She is a former two-time world champion for women's singles, and former women's singles World No. 1. Her first big title was in girls' dou ...

(谢杏芳), badminton player from the People's Republic of China * Xie Zhongbo (谢中博), badminton player from the People's Republic of China * Cheah Soon Kit (谢順吉) (born 1968), badminton player from Malaysia. 1986 Badminton Olympic Silver medalist * Cheah Liek Hou, para-badminton player from Malaysia. 2020 Para-Badminton Paralympic Gold medalist. * Aaron Chia (谢定峰) (born 1997), badminton player from Malaysia. * Hsieh Chia-hsien (謝佳賢), professional baseball player from Taiwan. * Hsieh Su-wei, professional tennis player from Taiwan. * Hsieh Chia-Han (born 1988), pole vaulter from Taiwan. * Chia Boon Leong (谢文龙) (1925–2022), Singaporean-Chinese footballer

Religion

* Xie Shiguang (1917–2005), Chinese

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

* Nicholas Chia (谢益裕), Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore * Mantak Chia (謝明德), Thai taoist master

Education

* Shiuhpyng Shieh, National Chiao Tung University,

and Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Reliability * Daniel Tse, University of Macau * T.H. Tse, The University of Hong Kong * Shieh You-hwa * David Tse,

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

* Shang-Ping Xie, climatologist

References

{{surname, Xie Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames