Ye (simplified Chinese: 叶; traditional Chinese: 葉; pinyin: Yè; Wade–Giles: Yeh) is the 42nd most common Chinese surname.[1] The same Chinese character is commonly romanized as Ye in mainland China and Yeh in Taiwan from the Mandarin pronunciation. In Hong Kong, Macau, and Southeast Asia, it is usually romanized as Yip or Ip from the Cantonese pronunciation, and Yap or Yeap from Hakka or Minnan pronunciations. It is also a rare surname in Vietnam, as romanized Yeh or spelled traditionally Diệp. Less common spellings are Yee and Ee, which are usually alternate spellings for the different surname Yu (余).
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Although the surname Ye shares the same Chinese character that means leaf/leaves, it actually originated in the 5th century BC from the city of Ye in the State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period.[2] The city was located in present-day Ye County in Henan Province. The surname's modern pronunciations are Yè in Mandarin and Yip in Cantonese, but in Ancient Chinese the character Yè (葉) was pronounced [ɕiɛp] (romanized as Sjep),[3] and its original pronunciation in Archaic Chinese is undetermined. According to the 11th century Guangyun dictionary, the character was a homophone of other characters such as 攝 and 歙[3] which are pronounced shè in modern Mandarin and sip in modern Cantonese. It is not clear when the pronunciation of Yè (葉) diverged from its former homophones.
The surname Ye originated from the royal family of Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period of the Zhou Dynasty. According to Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian, Yuxiong, a descendant of the Yellow Emperor's grandson Zhuanxu, was the teacher of King Wen of Zhou. After the Zhou overthrew the Shang Dynasty, King Cheng of Zhou (reigned 1042-1021 BC) awarded Yuxiong's great-grandson Xiong Yi the fiefdom of Chu, which over the ensuing centuries developed into a powerful kingdom. King Zhuang of Chu (reigned 613-591 BC) was one of the Five Hegemons, the most powerful monarchs during the Spring and Autumn Period.[4]
A great-grandson of King Zhuang named Shu was appointed yin (governor) of Shen (in present-day Linquan County of Anhui Province), and became known as Shen Yin Shu (Chinese: 沈尹戍). In 506 BCE the State of Wu invaded Chu with an army commanded by the famous generals Wu Zixu and Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War. Shen Yin Shu, who had risen to the position of Sima (chief commander of the army), died in the aftermath of the historic Battle of Boju.[5][6]
After the war King Zhao of Chu enfeoffed Shen Yin Shu's son Shen Zhuliang (Chinese: 沈諸梁) with the city of Ye, located at the northern frontier of the kingdom. In 478 BC, during the reign of King Hui, Shen Zhuliang put down the rebellion of Bai Gong Sheng (Duke of Bai) and restored the king's rule. He became lingyin (prime minister) and sima at the same time and was awarded the title Ye Gong (葉公, Duke of Ye).[2]
In pre-Qin Dynasty China, noble families usually had two surnames: xìng (姓, ancestral name) and shì (氏, clan name). Shen Zhuliang, as a member of the ruling house of Chu, shared the ancestral name of Mi (芈) of the Chu kings. He also inherited the clan name of Shen from his father. Due to the fame of the Duke of Ye, however, his descendants adopted Ye as their clan name. Later the distinction between the ancestral and clan names was abolished, and Ye became the surname of Shen Zhuliang's descendants. Shen Zhuliang, now better known as Ye Gong, is considered the founding ancestor of the Ye clan.[2]