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.《說文解字》陳 段玉裁注

Territory Chen was originally from Taihao (太昊、太皞), the capital of Fuxi's clan.《左傳·昭公十七年》：陈，大皞之虚也 It was south of the Yellow River.《史记·货殖列传》："陈在楚夏之交，通鱼盐之货，其民多贾。"

Capital

Its capital was Wanqiu, in present-day Huaiyang County in the plains of eastern Henan province.《吕氏春秋·似顺论》对此有更为详细的记载："荆庄王欲伐陈，使人视之。使者曰：'陈不可伐也'。·庄王曰：'何故？'对曰：'城郭高，沟洫深，蓄积多也。'《毛詩傳》："四方高，中央下曰宛丘"白壽彝版《中國通史》第03卷 上古時代 第四節 地學 Zhu Xi explains that Wanqiu means "[a hill] with a crater on top surrounded by high walls on all four sides".Zhu Xi, Collected Explanations on the Classic of Poetry, "Volume 3 - Wanqiu". Qinzaotang siku quanshu huiyao 摛藻堂四庫全書薈要 version p. 79 of 124. quote: "四方高中央下曰宛丘。"

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 (Chen Hugong).

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 (surname) and the Chen (surname). The Chen clan would later found the Chen dynasty of China and then the Trần dynasty, a golden age of Vietnam (陳朝 Tran is the Vietnamese pronunciation of Chen). In 1400 AD, Hồ Quý Ly overthrew the Trần dynasty and established the Hồ dynasty (Hồ is the Vietnamese pronunciation for "Hu"). He claimed to be a descendant of Chen Hugong and Emperor Shun, and changed the name of Vietnam from Đại Việt to Đại Ngu (大虞), or Great Ngu (Ngu is the Vietnamese pronunciation for Yu 虞 the legendary state of Emperor Shun). 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 (state) 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》。《詩經·國風》

Rulers The state of Chen lasted nearly 600 years and produced over 25 rulers. In chronological order from first to last (note Hu Gong means Duke of Hu and vice versa): Duke Hu of Chen Duke Shēn of Chen Duke Xiang of Chen Duke Xiao of Chen Duke Shèn of Chen Duke You of Chen Duke Xi of Chen Duke Wu of Chen Duke Yi of Chen Duke Ping of Chen Duke Wen of Chen Duke Huan of Chen Chen Tuo Duke Li of Chen Duke Zhuang of Chen Duke Xuan of Chen Duke Mu of Chen Duke Gong of Chen Duke Ling of Chen Xia Zhengshu Duke Cheng of Chen Duke Ai of Chen Prince Liu Chuan Fengxu Duke Hui of Chen Duke Huai of Chen Duke Min of Chen

Table Ruler Title (Chinese) Other Name (Chinese) Reign (BC) Number of years ruling Identity1Chen Hugong胡公 滿 1045—986 Ruled for 60 years The founder of Chen2Duke Shēn of Chen 申公 犀侯 985—961 Ruled for 25 years -3Duke Xiang of Chen相公 皋羊 960—939 Ruled for 22 years The younger brother of Duke Shēn4Duke Xiao of Chen孝公 突 938—905 Ruled for 34 years The son of Duke Shēn5Duke Shèn of Chen慎公 圉戎 904—855 Ruled for 50 years The son of Duke Xiao6Duke You of Chen幽公 寧 854—832 Ruled for 23 years The son of Duke Shen7Duke Xi of Chen僖公 孝 831—796 Ruled for 36 years The son of Duke You8Duke Wu of Chen武公 靈 795—781 Ruled for 15 years The son of Duke Xi9Duke Yi of Chen夷公 說 780—778 Ruled for 3 years The son of Duke Wu10Duke Ping of Chen平公 燮 777—755 Ruled for 23 years The younger brother of Duke Yi11Duke Wen of Chen文公 圉 754—745 Ruled for 10 years The son of Duke Ping12Duke Huan of Chen桓公 鮑 744—707 Ruled for 38 years The son of Duke Wen13Chen Tuo - 佗 707─706 Ruled for 8 months The younger brother of Duke Huan14Duke Li of Chen厲公 躍 706─700 Ruled for 7 years The son of Duke Huan15Duke Zhuang of Chen莊公 林 699—693 Ruled for 7 years The son of Duke Li16Duke Xuan of Chen宣公 杵臼 692—648 Ruled for 45 years The younger brother of Duke Zhuang17Duke Mu of Chen穆公 款 647—632 Ruled for 16 years The son of Duke Xuan18Duke Gong of Chen共公 朔 631—614 Ruled for 18 years The son of Duke Mu19Duke Ling of Chen靈公 平國 613—599 Ruled for 15 years The son of Duke Gong20Xia Zhengshu - 徵舒 599 Ruled for multiple months The great-grandson of Duke Xuan21Duke Cheng of Chen成公 午 598—569 Ruled for 30 years The son of Duke Ling22Duke Ai of Chen哀公 弱 568—534 Ruled for 35 years The son of Duke Cheng23Gongzi Liu - 留 534, from March to November Ruled for 9 months The son of Duke Ai24Chuan Fengxu - 穿封戌 533—529 Ruled for 5 years Advisor of Chu25Duke Hui of Chen惠公 吳 529—506 Ruled for 28 years Grandson of Duke Ai26Duke Huai of Chen懷公 柳 505—502 Ruled for 4 years Son of Duke Hui27Duke Min of Chen湣公 越 501—478 Ruled for 24 years Son of Duke Huai 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

See also Chen (surname), 陳姓 adopted by people of Chen state Chen Hugong, founding emperor Emperor Shun (舜帝), forefather of Chen Tian Qi 田齊 Gui surname 妫姓 Hu surname 胡姓 Tian surname 田姓 Yu surname 虞姓 Yao surname 姚姓 Yuan surname 袁姓 Yuan Taotu, relative of Chen family

References

Bibliography

Reading

《史記》卷36：陳杞世家 [Shiji] 《春秋左氏傳》(始見於隱公三年) [Spring and Autumn period]