Chen (state)


Chen was a state founded by Duke Hu of Chen during the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. It existed from c. 1045 BC–479 BC. Its capital was Wanqiu, in present-day Huaiyang County in the plains of eastern Henan province. Chen, the 4th most popular Chinese surname in the world, and members of the Hu clan, the 13th most popular Chinese surname in the world, would claim descent from the Duke Hu of Chen who was in turn descended from the legendary Emperor Shun. At its peak, Chen encompassed fourteen cities in modern-day Henan and Anhui.

Name

It is written 陳 the same as the Chen surname. In ancient texts, it is sometimes misspelled as 敶, also pronounced Chen.

Territory

Chen was originally from Taihao, the capital of Fuxi's clan. It was south of the Yellow River.

Capital

Its capital was Wanqiu, in present-day Huaiyang County in the plains of eastern Henan province. Zhu Xi explains that Wanqiu means " with a crater on top surrounded by high walls on all four sides".

History

According to tradition, the royal family of Chen were descendants of the legendary sage king Emperor Shun. After the conquest of the Shang dynasty in 1046/45 BC, King Wu of Zhou enfeoffed his son-in-law Gui Man, a descendant of Shun, at Chen, and Man became known as Duke Hu of Chen.
Duke Shēn of Chen, son of Hugong then became second duke of Chen.
Chen later became an ally state of Chu, fighting as an ally of Chu at the Battle of Chengpu. It was finally unified with the Chu in 479 BC. Many people of Chen then took the name of their former country as their family name, and account for the many of Chinese people with the family name Chen today. After the destruction of the old Chu capital at Ying, Chen became the Chu capital.

Achievements and descendants

  • The founding duke, formally known as Duke Hu of Chen, is credited with being the originator of the Hu and the Chen.
  • The Chen clan would later found the Chen dynasty of China and then the Trần dynasty, a golden age of Vietnam.
  • In 1400 AD, Hồ Quý Ly overthrew the Trần dynasty and established the Hồ dynasty. He claimed to be a descendant of Chen Hugong and Emperor Shun, and changed the name of Vietnam from Đại Việt to Đại Ngu, or Great Ngu.
  • In ancient times 陳 sounded similar to 東 dong, meaning 'East'. It also sounded similar to 田 tian. After the warring states period, some members of the Chen clan in Qi adopted the surname 田 Tian, which later became popular in Chinese and Japanese surnames.
In summary, surnames with descent from Chen include:
  • Chen surname 陳姓
  • Gui surname 妫姓
  • Hu surname 胡姓
  • Tian surname 田姓
  • Yu surname 虞姓
  • Yao surname 姚姓
  • Yuan surname 袁姓

    Culture

The Shijing has at least 10 songs dedicated to Chen:《宛丘》、《東門之枌》、《衛門》、《東門之池》、《東門之楊》、《墓門》、《防有鵲巢》、《月出》、《株林》、《澤陂》。

Rulers

The state of Chen lasted nearly 600 years and produced over 25 rulers. In chronological order from first to last :
  1. Duke Hu of Chen
  2. Duke Shēn of Chen
  3. Duke Xiang of Chen
  4. Duke Xiao of Chen
  5. Duke Shèn of Chen
  6. Duke You of Chen
  7. Duke Xi of Chen
  8. Duke Wu of Chen
  9. Duke Yi of Chen
  10. Duke Ping of Chen
  11. Duke Wen of Chen
  12. Duke Huan of Chen
  13. Chen Tuo
  14. Duke Li of Chen
  15. Duke Zhuang of Chen
  16. Duke Xuan of Chen
  17. Duke Mu of Chen
  18. Duke Gong of Chen
  19. Duke Ling of Chen
  20. Xia Zhengshu
  21. Duke Cheng of Chen
  22. Duke Ai of Chen
  23. Prince Liu
  24. Chuan Fengxu
  25. Duke Hui of Chen
  26. Duke Huai of Chen
  27. Duke Min of Chen

    Table

Note: the reign lengths of the dukes before Duke You of Chen are derived from conjecture, and are only for reference.

Family tree

See :zh:陈国君主世系图

Reading

  • 《史記》卷36：陳杞世家
  • 《春秋左氏傳》

Category:Ancient Chinese states
Category:States of the Spring and Autumn period
Category:Zhou dynasty
Category:11th-century BC establishments in China
Category:States and territories established in the 11th century BC
Category:5th-century BC disestablishments in China
Category:States and territories disestablished in the 5th century BC