There are two main sources of Xie surname: Ren surname and Jiang surname. Legend has it that Xie's surname has a history of at least 3500 years, and it was almost wiped out in the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Xie, surnamed Jiang, has a history of 2,800 years. His ancestral home is Dongxi Village, Jinhua, Wancheng District, Nanyang City, Henan Province. Zun (surnamed Jiang) is the ancestor of Shen Bo (the last year of Western Zhou Dynasty).

Xie was first active in southern Henan. The Chu people destroyed Shen and moved the Xie clan to the upper reaches of Huaihe River. Since then, the Xie clan began the process of moving south. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Xie clan moved to Shandong, Hubei, Hunan and other places. During the Warring States period, it expanded to Sichuan and Guizhou and absorbed local ethnic minorities. During the Han and Jin Dynasties, Xie's family had spread to Shaanxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and other places. From the Three Kingdoms to the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Xie family became one of the most famous families in the world. In the Tang Dynasty, Xie began to enter Fujian. In the Ming Dynasty, it entered Guangdong and developed into Taiwan Province Province, becoming the most popular name in Southeast China.