Xie
Encyclopedia
Xie is a Chinese family name
Chinese surname
Chinese family names have been historically used by Han Chinese and Sinicized Chinese ethnic groups in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and among overseas Chinese communities. In ancient times two types of surnames, family names and clan names , existed.The colloquial expressions laobaixing...

; it is estimated that there are about 2 million people worldwide with this surname, the majority of whom live in southern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, and a 2006 study found that Xie was the 24th most common surname in China, with 0.27% of the population having this surname.
The greater majority of Xie members are also members of the Hakka people
Hakka people
The Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....

 of the greater Han
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...

 ethnicity.

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
Kaifeng
Kaifeng , known previously by several names , is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. Nearly 5 million people live in the metropolitan area...

, Henan Province.

Variations

The spelling of the same Chinese character
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...

 using Wade-Giles
Wade-Giles
Wade–Giles , sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a romanization system for the Mandarin Chinese language. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Wade during the mid-19th century , and was given completed form with Herbert Giles' Chinese–English dictionary of 1892.Wade–Giles was the most...

 romanization is Hsieh. The spelling "Hsieh" is most commonly used in Taiwan and in older romanizations. "Hsieh" tends to be incorrectly pronounced as "Shay" by those attempting to read it using English orthography. However, other variations are pronounced "Sh'eh" and the spelling is sometimes modified as Shieh.

The Cantonese spelling of the same Chinese character is Tse, Tze or Che and the Taishanese spelling of the same Chinese character is Dea, Der, Dare, or Dear. The Minnan (Hokkien) and Teochew spelling of the same Chinese character is Chia, Cheah, or Sia.

The Vietnamese
Vietnamese language
Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...

 version of the same Chinese character is Tạ.
In Malaysia and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, the name is most commonly Chia, although Cheah, Seah, Sia, Cha, Tse, Chay etc. can also be found. During the Chinese Diaspora, the region was administered by British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

 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
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, the name is also spelled as Sese (which also means thank you in Kapampangan, a local dialect in Pampanga, Philippines where the first Xie settled). In Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

, the name is also spelt as Tjhia or Tjia. In East Timor, as a legacy of Portguese colonialism and lingua franca, Xie is also produced as Tchia, Tchea, Tsia, Tcha and Tjea.

In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the name is sometimes spelled as Jair and Zia. Other variations of the surname include Shea and Shei.

Variation Table

Variation Language Common Place
Xie Mandarin/Pinyin Romanization Mainland China
Cheah/Chia
/Seah/Sia
Hokkien (Minnan) and Teochew Min Overseas Chinese
Che/Tse
Tze/Ze
Cantonese Hong Kong, Yue Overseas Chinese
Tjhia/Tjia Bahasa Indonesia Indonesia
Sha Japanese Japan
Sa Korean Korea
Cheah/Chia
Seah
All Min, Hakka and Yue dialects Malaysia, Singapore
Saa/Sia Filipino-Chinese Philippines
Sese Filipino-Kapampangan
Hsieh/Shieh Wade-Giles romanization Taiwan
Tcha/Tchea
Tchia/Tjea
Tsia
Portuguese Timor-Leste
Dea/Dear
Dare/Der
Taishanese United States
Jair/Zia American English
Tạ Vietnamese Vietnam

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
Yellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor or Huangdi1 is a legendary Chinese sovereign and culture hero, included among the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Tradition holds that he reigned from 2697–2597 or 2696–2598 BC...

. Yuyang's descendants founded ten states successively, the State of Xie (谢) first, and its occupants becoming the first Xie.

For the purpose of reciprocating his mother's upbringing, King Xuan of Zhou
King Xuan of Zhou
King Xuan of Zhou was the eleventh sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. Estimated dates of his reign are 827-782 BC or 827/25-782 BC.He worked to restore royal authority after the Gong He interregnum. He fought the 'Western Barbarians' and another group on the Huai River to the southeast. In...

 (r. 827 – 782 BCE) of the Western Zhou
Western Zhou
The Western Zhōu period was the first half of the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang Dynasty at the Battle of Muye. C.H...

 Dynasty granted the former State of Xie, Xie Ying (谢营),modern-day Nanyang
Nanyang, Henan
Nanyang is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Henan province, People's Republic of China. The city with the largest administrative area in Henan, Nanyang borders Xinyang to the southeast, Zhumadian to the east, Pingdingshan to the northeast, Luoyang to the north, Sanmenxia to the...

 (南阳), Henan province, to his maternal uncle Shen Boxi, the Marquess of Shen
Marquess of Shen
The Marquess of Shēn was a ruler of the State of Shēn during the Zhōu Dynasty period of Chinese history. A vassal state of the Zhōu Kings, Shēn state covered the area of modern day Nanyang City in Henan Province....

, whose line claimed descent from the semi-mythological character Bo Yi. The area was renamed the State of Shen, and as a gesture of gratitude to his nephew, Shen Boxi adopted the surname Xie, which means "thanks" or gratitude in general.

By the early Qin dynasty, a branch of the Xie relocated to Yangxia (阳夏), Chen (陈) commandery (modern-day Taikang, Henan, and built a reputation as a noble clan.

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.
During the subsequent Southern Dynasties
Southern dynasties
The Southern dynasties comprise the Liu Song, Southern Qi, Liang Dynasty and Chen Dynasty, whose capital were at Jiankang , and Emperor Yuan of Liang, as well as the later Western Liang emperors , also set their...

 period, the Yuan
Yuan (surname)
Yuan is a Chinese surname ranked 37th in China by population. In Standard Chinese, the surname is transliterated "Yuán" or "Yüen2" . Regional variants include "Yeu" , "Ion" , "Yuen" , "Oan" , "Won" , and "Viên"...

 (袁) clan of the Chen (陳) state established extensive marriage alliances with the major clans Wang
Wang (surname)
Wang is a Chinese family name and one of the most common surnames in the world. It is ranked 8th in the Hundred Family Surnames, and first in the People's Republic of China's National Citizen ID Information System . Wang is ranked as the most common surname in mainland China, with 92.88 million...

 (王), Xiao (萧), and especially the Xie, whose ancestral lands were also in the commandery of Chen.

By the Yuan dynasty, the Xie had spread across China, and Chen Youliang
Chen Youliang
Chen Youliang was the founder of the insurgent state of Dahan in the late Yuan Dynasty period of Chinese history.-Biography:...

, a fisherman from the Ming Dynasty, was originally from the Xie clan, but his ancestors married into the Chen family and adopted the Chen surname because they only had daughters and no sons to carry on the family line.

Xie clan of Chen commandery

  • Xie An
    Xie An
    200px|right|thumb|Statue of xie anXie An , courtesy name Anshi , formally Duke Wenjing of Luling , was a Jin Dynasty statesman who, despite his lack of military ability, led Jin through a major crisis—attacks by Former Qin...

     (謝安) (320–385), Statesman and Prime Minister
    Prime minister
    A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

     of the Jin dynasty
    Jin Dynasty
    Jin Dynasty may refer to:* Jin Dynasty , Chinese dynasty, subdivided into the Western and Eastern Jin periods* Later Jin Dynasty , one of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period in China.* Jin Dynasty , a Jurchen kingdom in northern China* Later Jīn Dynasty, or...

  • Xie Daoyun
    Xie Daoyun
    Xie Daoyun was a Chinese poet, writer, scholar, calligrapher and debater of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.-Family:She belonged to the Xie clan from what is now Henan and was a sister of the general Xie Xuan. Though her mother is unknown, it is known that she gave birth to five more children. She was...

     (謝道韫) (340-399), Jin dynasty scholar, poet and debater
  • Xie Xuan
    Xie Xuan
    Xie Xuan , courtesy name Youdu , formally Duke Xianwu of Kangle , was a Jin Dynasty general who is best known for repelling the Former Qin army at the Battle of Fei River, preventing the Former Qin emperor Fu Jiān from destroying Jin and uniting China.- Early career :Xie Xuan's father Xie Yi was...

     (謝玄) (343-388), Duke of Kangle, Jin Dynasty general
  • Xie Lingyun
    Xie Lingyun
    Xie Lingyun , also known as the Duke of Kangle , was one of the foremost Chinese poets of the Southern and Northern Dynasties.-Biography:...

     (謝靈運) (385–433), Duke of Kangle, Jin Dynasty poet
  • Empress Xie Fanjing
    Empress Xie Fanjing
    Empress Xie Fanjing was an empress of the Chinese dynasty Liu Song. Her husband was the last emperor of the dynasty Emperor Shun.Xie Fanjing came from a noble family—her father Xie Yang was a mid-low level official in the imperial administration, but her grandfather Xie Zhuang was a...

     (謝梵境), Empress of the Liu Song dynasty.
  • Xie He
    Xie He
    Xie He may refer to:* Xie He , an ancient Chinese painter and art theorist in the 6th century* Xie He , a modern Chinese professional Go player...

     (謝赫), Liu Song and Southern Qi
    Southern Qi
    The Southern Qi Dynasty was the second of the Southern dynasties in China, followed by the Liang Dynasty. During its 23-year history, the dynasty was largely filled with instability, as after the death of the capable Emperor Gao and Emperor Wu, Emperor Wu's grandson Xiao Zhaoye was assassinated...

     writer, art historian and critic.

Politics & Military

  • Hsieh Tung-min (謝東閔) (1908-2001), Kuomintang
    Kuomintang
    The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...

     politician and first local Vice-President of the Republic of China
    Republic of China
    The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

  • Xie Fuzhi
    Xie Fuzhi
    Xie Fuzhi was a Communist Party of China military commander, political commissar, and national security specialist. He was born in 1909 in Hong'an County, Hubei and died in Beijing in 1972. He was married to Liu Xiangping...

     (谢富治) (1909-1972), Communist Party of China
    Communist Party of China
    The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...

     military commander and political commissar
  • Xie Jinyuan
    Xie Jinyuan
    -Places residing for a length of time:Xie got through his several years at Whampoa Military Academy in Guangzhou, then he serve in the National Revolutionary Army in Shanghai till to death.-Educational level attained:...

     (謝晉元), Commander of the Defense of Sihang Warehouse
    Defense of Sihang Warehouse
    The Defense of Sihang Warehouse took place from October 26 to November 1, 1937, and marked the beginning of the end of the three-month Battle of Shanghai in the opening phase of the Second Sino-Japanese War...

     in the National Revolutionary Army
    National Revolutionary Army
    The National Revolutionary Army , pre-1928 sometimes shortened to 革命軍 or Revolutionary Army and between 1928-1947 as 國軍 or National Army was the Military Arm of the Kuomintang from 1925 until 1947, as well as the national army of the Republic of China during the KMT's period of party rule...

     of China
    China
    Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

     during the Second Sino-Japanese War
    Second Sino-Japanese War
    The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...

  • Frank Hsieh
    Frank Hsieh
    Frank Hsieh Chang-ting is a Taiwanese politician of the Democratic Progressive Party in the Republic of China. He was the mayor of Kaohsiung City until his appointment as President of the Executive Yuan by president Chen Shui-bian on February 1, 2005. He announced his resignation from the post of...

     (謝長廷), former Kaohsiung
    Kaohsiung
    Kaohsiung is a city located in southwestern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on the west. Kaohsiung, officially named Kaohsiung City, is divided into thirty-eight districts. The city is one of five special municipalities of the Republic of China...

     mayor, Premier of the Republic of China
    Premier of the Republic of China
    The President of the Executive Yuan , commonly known as the Premier of the Republic of China , is the head of the Executive Yuan, the executive branch of the Republic of China , which currently administers Taiwan, Matsu, and Kinmen. The premier is appointed by the President of the Republic of China...

    , and DPP
    Democratic Progressive Party
    The Democratic Progressive Party is a political party in Taiwan, and the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition. Founded in 1986, DPP is the first meaningful opposition party in Taiwan. It has traditionally been associated with strong advocacy of human rights and a distinct Taiwanese identity,...

    's candidate for the 2008 ROC Presidency.

Entertainment & Business

  • Xie Jin
    Xie Jin
    Xie Jin was an important Chinese film director. He rose to prominence in 1957, directing the film Woman Basketball Player No. 5. Most recently he was known for the direction of The Opium War....

     (谢晋) (1923-2008), Film director
  • Nicholas Tse
    Nicholas Tse
    Nicholas Tse is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter, actor and musician, and son of actor Patrick Tse. He is a member of the Emperor Entertainment Group...

     (謝霆鋒), Hong Kong
    Hong Kong
    Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

     based singer and actor
  • Patrick Tse (謝賢), Actor, producer, screenwriter and director in Hong Kong
    Hong Kong
    Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

     cinema.
  • Kenneth Tse
    Kenneth Tse
    Kenneth Tse 謝德驥 is a Chinese American classical saxophonist. Tse was mainly self-taught as a youth until he met world-renowned saxophone artist and pedagogue Eugene Rousseau in 1989. He then studied at the Indiana University School of Music with Rousseau from 1993–1998, where he received his BM,...

     (謝德骥), renowned classical saxophone soloist
  • Xie Shaoguang
    Xie Shaoguang
    Xie Shaoguang is a former Singaporean Chinese actor. Known for his roles on MediaCorp TV Channel 8's drama serials and other programmes, he rose to fame for his acting prowess and versatility despite not being known for his physical appearance...

     (谢韶光), Singapore television actress
  • Fiona Xie
    Fiona Xie
    -Career:Xie was spotted by a talent scout at the age of fifteen while was studying in St. Hilda's Secondary School. She modeled for numerous print and television commercials in Singapore and Hong Kong before joining MediaCorp Studios as a full-time artiste in 2001....

     (谢宛谕), Singaporean television actress
  • Amber Chia
    Amber Chia
    Amber Chia is a Malaysian model. She was born in Ipoh, Malaysia, but grew up in the city of Tawau, in Sabah, East Malaysia. She began her modeling career at seventeen in Kuala Lumpur...

     (谢麗萍), Malaysian model
  • Beau Sia
    Beau Sia
    -Biography: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...

     (謝福源), Chinese-American slam poet.
  • Tony Hsieh
    Tony Hsieh
    Tony Hsieh is the CEO of online shoe and clothing shop Zappos.com. Prior to joining Zappos, Hsieh co-founded and sold the internet advertising network LinkExchange to Microsoft in 1999 for $265 million.-Early life:...

    , Zappos.com CEO
  • Jeffrey Cheah (謝富年), Founder and chairman of The Sunway Group of Companies in Malaysia.

Literature & Art

  • Xie Jin
    Xie Jin
    Xie Jin was an important Chinese film director. He rose to prominence in 1957, directing the film Woman Basketball Player No. 5. Most recently he was known for the direction of The Opium War....

     (謝縉) (1369–1415), Ming dynasty landscape painter and calligrapher
  • Dr. Cheah Thien Soong
    Cheah Thien Soong
    Dr. Cheah Thien Soong is a renowned contemporary ink-painting artist in Malaysia. Cheah is considered the second generation of Nanyang-style contemporary ink-painting artist. He graduated from Chung Hua High School in Seremban, Malaysia in 1959 before proceeding to Singapore's Nanyang Academy of...

    , Renowned Malaysian contemporary ink-painting artist
  • Xie Jun
    Xie Jun
    Xie Jun is a chess grandmaster from China. She had two reigns as Women's World Chess Champion, from 1991 to 1996 and again from 1999 to 2001. Xie is only the second woman to have two reigns, the other being Elisabeth Bykova....

     (谢军) (born 1970), two-time Women's World Chess Champion
    Women's World Chess Championship
    The Women's World Chess Championship is played to determine the women's world champion in chess. Like the World Chess Championship, it is administered by FIDE....


Sports

  • Chia-Hsian Hsieh
    Chia-Hsian Hsieh
    Hsieh Chia-hsien, , is a Taiwanese professional baseball player. Originally drafted by the Taiwan Major League's Taichung Agan in 1998, after TML's merger into CPBL he has been playing for the Chinese Professional Baseball League's Macoto Gida and its successors Macoto Cobras and Dmedia T-REX since...

     (謝佳賢), Taiwanese Professional Baseball
    Professional baseball in Taiwan
    Professional baseball in Taiwan started with the founding of the Chinese Professional Baseball League in 1989. At its 1997 peak, Taiwan had two leagues and 11 professional teams...

     player.
  • Xie Limei
    Xie Limei
    Xie Limei is a Chinese triple jumper.She won the silver medal at the 2004 World Junior Championships and gold medals at the 2005 Asian Championships and the 2006 Asian Games. She also competed at the 2006 World Indoor Championships without reaching the final...

     (谢荔梅), Chinese triple jumper
  • Xie Xingfang
    Xie Xingfang
    Xie Xingfang is a female badminton player from the People's Republic of China who has twice won women's singles at the BWF World Championships....

     (谢杏芳), Badminton player from the People's Republic of China
  • Xie Zhongbo
    Xie Zhongbo
    -Career:A doubles specialist on the world circuit, Xie has regularly partnered Guo Zhendong in men's doubles and Zhang Yawen in mixed doubles over the past several years. Xie and Guo have won the Polish Open , the China Masters , and the India Open together...

     (谢中博), Badminton player from the People's Republic of China
  • Hsieh Chia-hsien (謝佳賢), Professional baseball player
  • Hsieh Su-Wei
    Hsieh Su-wei
    Hsieh Su-wei is a Taiwanese professional female tennis player.  As of July 12, 2010 she is ranked 322nd in the WTA Tour singles rankings and is the fourth-highest ranked Taiwanese women's singles player. -2006–2007:...

    , Professional tennis player

Religion

  • Xie Shiguang
    Xie Shiguang
    Xie Shiguang is a bishop of People's Republic of China's underground Roman Catholic Church. Xie was first arrested in 1955 because of his loyalty and obedience to the Pope, and was jailed again from 1958–1980, from 1984–1987 and finally from 1990–1992; spending 28 years in prison...

     (1917–2005), Chinese Catholic
    Catholic
    The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

     Bishop
    Bishop
    A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

  • Nicholas Chia
    Nicholas Chia
    Most. Rev. Monsignor Nicholas Gerald Chia Yeck Joo D.D., S.T.L. is third and current Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore and the first Singapore-born clergyman to hold the office...

    (谢益裕), Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
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