When Xuanping was born, his father was serving as county magistrate of Xiangshan, and he was raised by his mother Feng Hua (冯华; 馮華).

[2] After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Ye briefly studied at Harbin Institute of Technology and Tsinghua University from 1949 to 1950, and then worked at Shenyang No.

[5] A follower of Deng Xiaoping,[4] Ye was a stalwart supporter of economic liberalization and more reform-minded than the Party Secretary Lin Ruo.

[5] Ye cultivated strong ties with business magnates of Hong Kong and Macau, including Stanley Ho and Ann Tse-kai.

[4] As a member of the Central Committee, Ye, together with Shanghai mayor Zhu Rongji, was a major regional leader who supported the reformist General Secretary Zhao Ziyang, and resisted Premier Li Peng's policy of retrenchment.

[7] Under Ye's leadership, Guangdong grew economically prosperous while gaining significant autonomy from the national government in Beijing, and Hong Kong media dubbed him the "Emperor of the South".

[8] In April 1991, Ye agreed to leave his post and accepted the appointment as Vice Chairman of the 7th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a nominally higher ranking position.

In return, Beijing agreed to appoint Zhu Senlin, his designated candidate, as his successor, and allowed Ye to continue to reside in Guangdong.

Ye had reportedly threatened to withhold Guangdong's remittance to Beijing if his conditions were not met, and effectively maintained his power base in the province.