Xue ([ɕɥé]) 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 Japanese to Setsu and in Vietnamese to Tiết. According to the 2010 Chinese Census, it is the 76th most common surname in China, a sharp decline from 48th in 1982. In a study by geneticist Yuan Yida on the distribution of Chinese surnames, people who carry the name Xue are dispersed throughout the country and is most heavily concentrated in Shaanxi.
The surname traces back to the State of Xue in what is modern day Shandong. Yu the Great, founding emperor of the Xia dynasty, bestowed upon his minister Xi Zhong the title Marquis of Xue in gratitude for his invention of the Chinese chariot; Xi Zhong's descendants subsequently bore Xue as their clan name.
Sinicized descendants of various non-Han Chinese peoples also adopted Xue as their surname, including the Göktürk Syr-Tardush tribe, the Xianbei Chigan clan and several Manchu clans such as Sakda Hala, Sue Hala, Sunit Hala etc.
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.
Academics and science
Xue Juzheng, Song Dynasty historian and scholar
Xue Muqiao, Chinese economist
Xue Fei, former China Central Television news anchor
Xue Ji, Tang dynasty calligrapher
Xue Jiayan (Nancy Sit), Hong Kong actress
Xue Jiye, Chinese painter and sculptor
Xue Jinghua, the prima ballerina of the ballet Red Detachment of Women
Xue Kaiqi (Fiona Sit), 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, Chinese artist
Xue Zhiqian (Jacky Xue), Chinese actor
Francis Hsueh and Steven Hahn, film-making duo
Xue Bing, Chinese sprint canoer
Xue Changrui, Chinese pole vaulter, Asian Champion 2013
Xue Chen, Chinese professional beach volleyball player
Xue Haifeng, archer who competed in the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics
Xue Juan, Chinese javelin thrower
Xue Ming, Chinese volleyball player
Xue Ya'nan, Chinese footballer
Xue Yuyang, Chinese basketball player
Xue Manzi (Charles Xue), Chinese American entrepreneur, son of Xue Zizheng
Shaolan Hsueh, entrepreneur born in Taiwan who developed a new method to teach Chinese characters.
Government, politics, law and military
Xue Daoheng, official in Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
Xue E, Tang Dynasty general, grandson of Xue Rengui
Xue Feng, American geologist held in China on espionage charges
Xue Fucheng, Qing Dynasty diplomat
Xue Hanqin, judge at International Court of Justice
Xue Ji, Tang Dynasty chancellor, great-grandson of Xue Daoheng
Xue Ju, founding emperor of a short-lived state of Qin at the end of the Sui Dynasty
Xue Li, Han Dynasty general
Xue Ping, Tang Dynasty general, son of Xue Song
Xue Qi (Schive 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 Li Shimin
Xue Rengui, early Tang Dynasty general, most known for his campaigns against the Korean kingdom Goguryeo, the Tujue Turkish Khaganate, and the Tibetan Tufan empire
Xue Song, Tang Dynasty general, grandson of Xue Rengui
Xue Wanche, early Tang Dynasty general
Xue Wenjie, Min official
Xue Xu, Eastern Wu official, son of Xue Zong
Xue Yiju, Tang Dynasty and Later Liang Dynasty chancellor
Xue Ying, Eastern Wu official, son of Xue Zong
Xue Yuanchao, Tang Dynasty chancellor
Xue Yue, Chinese Guomindang Army general during the 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
Hsueh Hsiang-chuan (1944-), politician in Taiwan
Hsueh Ling (1954-), member of the Democratic Progressive Party, in Taiwan
Xue Baochai, one of the protagonists of the classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber
