Shen Collection, Upper Volume Radical: Grass (cǎo) Xue Kangxi stroke count: 19 Page 1061, Entry 22 According to the Tang Rhyme (Tangyun) and Correct Rhymes (Zhengyun), it is pronounced xie. According to the Jade Chapters (Yupian), it refers to the nutgrass plant. In the Rhapsody on the Master of Emptiness (Zixu Fu) by Sima Xiangru, it is mentioned as the xue, sha, qing, and fan plants. The commentary notes that the xue is the same as the mugwort plant. It also refers to the name of a feudal state. In the Discourses of the Hidden Man (Qianfu Lun), it is stated that during the rise of the Xia Dynasty, a man named Xi Zhong served as the Director of Carriages and was later enfeoffed in the territory of Xue. According to the Spring and Autumn Annals (Chunqiu), in the eleventh year of Duke Yin, the Marquis of Teng and the Marquis of Xue came to pay an audience. It also refers to a surname. According to the Comprehensive Treatise on Clans and Lineages (Tongzhi Shizu Lue), there are three origins for the surname Xue: first, the descendants of Xi Zhong, who took the name of their enfeoffed state as their surname; second, the Chigan clan who changed their surname to Xue; and third, the Xue clan of the Liaoxi region.