Ye () is a Chinese-language surname. It is listed 257th in the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

classic text A classic is a book accepted as being exemplary or particularly noteworthy. What makes a book "classic" is a concern that has occurred to various authors ranging from Italo Calvino to Mark Twain and the related questions of "Why Read the Cl ...

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

'', and is the 43rd most common surname in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, with a population of 5.8 million as of 2008 and 2019.

Transliterations and Derivatives

* Ye in

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

, alternatively romanized as Yeh 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 ...

* Yip, Ip, Jip, or Yeap in

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 ...

* Iap or Yap in

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 ...

and Teochew * Yap or Yapp in

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...

* Iek in

Eastern Min Eastern Min or Min Dong (, Foochow Romanized: ) is a branch of the Min group of the Chinese languages of China. The prestige form and most commonly cited representative form is the Fuzhou dialect, the speech of the capital of Fujian. Geogra ...

* Iet in

Gan The word Gan or the initials GAN may refer to: Places * Gan, a component of Hebrew placenames literally meaning "garden" China * Gan River (Jiangxi) * Gan River (Inner Mongolia), * Gan County, in Jiangxi province * Gansu, abbreviated '' ...

* Ip in

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

* Eap in

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

* Ijap, Jap, Jip, Yap, or Yip 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, ...

* Yap, Yip, Yak, Yaap, or Yeap 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 ...

* Yap in

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 ...

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 ...

Derivations

* As the

Hanja Hanja (; ), alternatively spelled Hancha, are Chinese characters used to write the Korean language. After characters were introduced to Korea to write Literary Chinese, they were adapted to write Korean as early as the Gojoseon period. () ...

of the

Korean surname This is a list of Korean surnames, in Hangul alphabetical order. The most common Korean surname (particularly in South Korea) is Kim (Korean name), Kim (), followed by Lee (Korean name), Lee () and Park (Korean surname), Park (). These three sur ...

s romanized as Yeop () and Seop () * As the

Chữ Nôm Chữ Nôm (, ) is a logographic writing system formerly used to write the Vietnamese language. It uses Chinese characters to represent Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary and some native Vietnamese words, with other words represented by new characters ...

for the

Vietnamese surname Traditional Vietnamese personal names generally consist of three parts, used in Personal name#Eastern name order, Eastern name order. * A family name (normally patrilineal, although matrilineality is possible, in cases such as divorce, children ...

Diệp * Derived as Effendi, Japri, Yapardi, Yapina, Yappy, Yaputra, Yipman, or other Indonesianized surnames among

Chinese Indonesians Chinese Indonesians (), or simply ''Orang Tionghoa'' or ''Tionghoa'', are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries. Chinese Indonesians are the fourth largest community of Overseas Chinese in th ...

Pronunciation

Middle Chinese Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese language, Chinese recorded in the ''Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expande ...

, Ye () was pronounced ''Sjep'' (IPA: ). As late as the 11th-century '' Guangyun Dictionary'', it was a homophone of other characters that are pronounced ''shè'' in modern Mandarin and ''sip'' in modern Cantonese.

Distribution

As of 2008, Ye is the 43rd most common surname in Taipei Taiwan, with a population of 5.8 million. It is the 22nd most common surname in

as of 2005.

Origin

Ye means "leaf" in

modern Chinese Standard Chinese ( zh, s=现代标准汉语, t=現代標準漢語, p=Xiàndài biāozhǔn hànyǔ, l=modern standard Han speech) is a modern standard form of Mandarin Chinese that was first codified during the republican era (1912–1949). ...

, but the name arose as a lineage name referring to the city of Ye (in modern

Ye County Ye County or Yexian () is a County (People's Republic of China), county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Pingdingshan, Henan province, China, with a population of . The ancient town of Kunyang was located in Ye County. It ...

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 ...

) in the

State of Chu Chu (, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was an Ancient Chinese states, ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BC. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou heartland and lasted ...

during the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period () was a period in History of China, Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou (256 BCE), characterized by the gradual erosion of royal power as local lords nominally subject t ...

of ancient China.葉姓來源及郡望堂號
." According to

Sima Qian Sima Qian () was a Chinese historian during the early Han dynasty. He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for the ''Shiji'' (sometimes translated into English as ''Records of the Grand Historian''), a general history of China cov ...

's ''

Records of the Grand Historian The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...

'',

Yuxiong Yuxiong (, reigned 11th century BC), also known as Yuzi or Master Yu (), was an early ruler of the ancient Chinese state that was later known as Chu. He was an ally and teacher of King Wen of Zhou (reigned 1099–1050 BC), the first king of the Zh ...

, a descendant of the

Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch, or Huangdi ( zh, t=黃帝, s=黄帝, first=t) in Chinese, is a mythical Chinese sovereign and culture hero included among the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. He is revered as ...

and his grandson

Zhuanxu Zhuanxu (), also known as Gaoyang (), was a mythological emperor of ancient China. In the traditional account recorded by Sima Qian, Zhuanxu was a grandson of the Yellow Emperor. Association with Four Barbarians At the age of ten with Shao ...

, was the teacher of

King Wen of Zhou King Wen of Zhou ( zh, c=周文王, p=Zhōu Wén Wáng; 1152–1050 BC, the Cultured King) was the posthumous title given to Ji Chang ( zh, c=姬昌), the patriarch of the Zhou state during the final years of Shang dynasty in ancient China. J ...

. After the Zhou overthrew the

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou d ...

King Cheng of Zhou King Cheng of Zhou (; 1055–1021 BC), personal name Ji Song, was the second king of the Chinese Zhou dynasty. The dates of his reign are 1042–1021 BCE or 1042/35–1006 BCE. Ji Dan, Duke of Zhou served as regent during his minority. His pare ...

(reigned 1042-1021 BC) awarded Yuxiong's great-grandson

Xiong Yi Xiong Yi is the personal name of: * Xiong Yi (11th century BC), ruler of Chu * Ruo'ao (died 764 BC), ruler of Chu * King Dao of Chu (died 381 BC), ruler of Chu {{hndis ...

the fiefdom of Chu, which over the ensuing centuries developed into a major kingdom.

King Zhuang of Chu King Zhuang of Chu (), personal name Xiong Lü, was a monarch of the Chu state. He was one of the "Five Hegemons" who attempted to wrest control of China during the Spring and Autumn period. Life The son of King Mu, King Zhuang ascended the th ...

(reigned 613-591 BC) was one of the

Five Hegemons The Five Hegemons (), also referred to as the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn period (), refers to several especially powerful rulers of Chinese states of the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history (770–476 BCE), sometimes alternat ...

, the most powerful monarchs during the Spring and Autumn period. In 506 BC the

State of Wu Wu () was a state during the Western Zhou dynasty and the Spring and Autumn period, outside the Zhou cultural sphere. It was also known as Gouwu () or Gongwu () from the pronunciation of the local language. Wu was located at the mouth of th ...

invaded Chu with an army commanded by

King Helü King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Wu Zixu :''Note: names are in simplified characters followed by traditional and Pinyin transliteration.'' Wu Yun (died 484 BC), better known by his courtesy name Zixu, was a Chinese military general and politician of the Wu (state), Wu kingdom in the Spr ...

and

Sun Tzu Sun Tzu (; zh, t=孫子, s=孙子, first= t, p=Sūnzǐ) may have been a Chinese General, military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period (771–256 BC). Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the au ...

. Shen Yin Shu, a great-grandson of King Zhuang and the Chu

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

, was killed in the aftermath of the

Battle of Boju The Battle of Boju () was the decisive battle of the war fought in 506 BC between Wu and Chu, two major kingdoms during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. The Wu forces were led by King Helü, his brother Fugai, and Chu exile Wu Z ...

. After the war

King Zhao of Chu King Zhao of Chu (), personal name Xiong Zhen, was from 515 BC to 489 BC the king of the Chu state. King Zhao succeeded his father, King Ping, and was in turn succeeded to the throne by his son, King Hui. Life In 506 BCE, King Helü of the S ...

enfeoffed In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of t ...

Shen Yin Shu's son

Shen Zhuliang Shen Zhuliang (), Duke of Ye () or Gao, Duke of Ye () (c. 529 BCE – after 478 BCE), was a general and Prime minister (Chu State), Prime Minister of the Chu (state), Kingdom of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. Shen ...

with the key frontier city of Ye, in gratitude for his father's sacrifice. Shen Zhuliang subsequently put down the rebellion of Sheng,

Duke of Bai Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ...

, in 478 BC and restored King Hui as ruler of Chu. King Hui then granted him the titles of

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 ...

marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

, and Duke of Ye (). In

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...

China, noble families usually had two surnames: clan name () and lineage name (). Shen Zhuliang, from a

cadet branch A cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets (realm, titles, fiefs, property and incom ...

of the ruling house of Chu, shared the lineage name of Mi () of the Chu kings. He also inherited the clan name of Shen from his father, but his fame led some of his descendants to adopt Ye as their clan name. Later the distinction between the clan and lineage names was abolished, and Ye became the surname of Shen Zhuliang's descendants. Shen Zhuliang, now better known as Duke of Ye, is considered the founding ancestor of the Ye surname.

Notable people

References

External links

Descendants of Ye visit ancestral lands
(in Chinese)
Sina surname wiki project
(in Chinese) {{surname, Ye Chinese-language surnames Chu (state) Individual Chinese surnames