Xi'e (lit. "Western E") took its name from the E, a Shang-dynasty vassal state probably originally located in modern Shanxi. The name is now pronounced as a brief, hard schwa (IPA: ), but the ancient pronunciation of the name has been reconstructed as closer to *Ngˤak. Around the time of the Qin, therefore, "Xi'e" would have been pronounced something like *Snˤər Ngˤak.Baxter, William & al. "Baxter-Sagart Old Chinese Reconstruction", pp. 99 & 121 . 2011. Accessed 14 November 2013.For more on the *s- prefix found in this reconstruction of Old Chinese , see Sagart, Laurent & al. "Reconstructing the *s- Prefix in Old Chinese". Language and Linguistics, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 29–59. 2012. Accessed 14 November 2013. By the Jin, it would have been Middle Chinese Ser Ngak."Middle Chinese readings for 9000 Guangyun characters in Baxter’s notation", pp. 30 & 133 . 2011. Accessed 14 November 2013.
