Chen (Chinese: 陈国; Chinese: 陳國; pinyin: Chen Guo) was a state founded by the 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.

State of Chen
陳國
c. 1045 BC–479 BC
CapitalWanqiu (宛丘)
GovernmentMonarchy
History 
• Established
c. 1045 BC
• Became capital of Chu
479 BC
Succeeded by
Chu (state)
Chen
"Chen" in seal script (top), Traditional (middle), and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinChén
Gwoyeu RomatzyhChern
Wade–GilesCh'en2
IPA[ʈʂʰə̌n]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationChàhn
JyutpingCan4
Southern Min
Tâi-lôTân
Middle Chinese
Middle Chineseɖin
Old Chinese
Baxter–Sagart (2014)*lri[n]

Name

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It is written 陳 the same as the Chen surname. In ancient texts, it is sometimes misspelled as 敶, also pronounced Chen.[1]

Territory

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Chen was originally from Taihao (太昊、太皞), the capital of Fuxi's clan.[2] It was south of the Yellow River.[2][3]

Capital

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Chen territory (east China)

Its capital was Wanqiu, in present-day Huaiyang County in the plains of eastern Henan province.[4][5][6] Zhu Xi explains that Wanqiu means "[a hill] with a crater on top surrounded by high walls on all four sides".[7]

History

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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).[8][9]

Duke Shēn of Chen, son of Hugong then became second duke of Chen.[10]

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.

 
Location of Chen state

Achievements and descendants

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  • The founding duke, formally known as Duke Hu of Chen, is credited with being the originator of the Hu (surname) and the Chen (surname).[11]
  • 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).[12]
  • 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:

Culture

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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》。[13]

Rulers

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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):

  1. Duke Hu of Chen
  2. Duke Shēn of Chen [10]
  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

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Ruler Title (Chinese) Other Name (Chinese) Reign (BC) Number of years ruling Identity
1 Chen Hugong 胡公 滿 1045—986 Ruled for 60 years The founder of Chen
2 Duke Shēn of Chen [10] 申公 犀侯 985—961 Ruled for 25 years -
3 Duke Xiang of Chen 相公 皋羊 960—939 Ruled for 22 years The younger brother of Duke Shēn
4 Duke Xiao of Chen 孝公 938—905 Ruled for 34 years The son of Duke Shēn
5 Duke Shèn of Chen 慎公 圉戎 904—855 Ruled for 50 years The son of Duke Xiao
6 Duke You of Chen 幽公 854—832 Ruled for 23 years The son of Duke Shen
7 Duke Xi of Chen 僖公 831—796 Ruled for 36 years The son of Duke You
8 Duke Wu of Chen 武公 795—781 Ruled for 15 years The son of Duke Xi
9 Duke Yi of Chen 夷公 780—778 Ruled for 3 years The son of Duke Wu
10 Duke Ping of Chen 平公 777—755 Ruled for 23 years The younger brother of Duke Yi
11 Duke Wen of Chen 文公 754—745 Ruled for 10 years The son of Duke Ping
12 Duke Huan of Chen 桓公 744—707 Ruled for 38 years The son of Duke Wen
13 Chen Tuo - 707─706 Ruled for 8 months The younger brother of Duke Huan
14 Duke Li of Chen 厲公 706─700 Ruled for 7 years The son of Duke Huan
15 Duke Zhuang of Chen 莊公 699—693 Ruled for 7 years The son of Duke Li
16 Duke Xuan of Chen 宣公 杵臼 692—648 Ruled for 45 years The younger brother of Duke Zhuang
17 Duke Mu of Chen 穆公 647—632 Ruled for 16 years The son of Duke Xuan
18 Duke Gong of Chen 共公 631—614 Ruled for 18 years The son of Duke Mu
19 Duke Ling of Chen 靈公 平國 613—599 Ruled for 15 years The son of Duke Gong
20 Xia Zhengshu - 徵舒 599 Ruled for multiple months The great-grandson of Duke Xuan
21 Duke Cheng of Chen 成公 598—569 Ruled for 30 years The son of Duke Ling
22 Duke Ai of Chen 哀公 568—534 Ruled for 35 years The son of Duke Cheng
23 Gongzi Liu - 534, from March to November Ruled for 9 months The son of Duke Ai
24 Chuan Fengxu - 穿封戌 533—529 Ruled for 5 years Advisor of Chu
25 Duke Hui of Chen 惠公 529—506 Ruled for 28 years Grandson of Duke Ai
26 Duke Huai of Chen 懷公 505—502 Ruled for 4 years Son of Duke Hui
27 Duke Min of Chen 湣公 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

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Chen state
(1)Duke Hu
胡公滿
1071-1045-986
(2)Duke Shēn
陈申公
犀侯
?-985-961BC
(3)Duke Xiang
陈相公
皋羊
?-960-939
(4)Duke Xiao
陈孝公

?-938-905BC
(5)Duke Shèn
陈慎公
圉戎
?-904-855BC
(6)Duke You
陈幽公

?-854-832BC
(7)Duke Xi
陈僖公

?-832-796BC
(8)Duke Wu
陈武公

?-796-781BC
(9)Duke Yi
陈夷公

?-781-778BC
(10)Duke Ping
陈平公

?-778-755BC
鍼子
(11)Duke Wen
陈文公

?-755-745BC
(12)Duke Huan
陈桓公

754-745-707BC
(13)Chen Tuo
陈佗
754-707BC

?-707BC
(14)Duke Li
陈厉公

?-707-700BC

庆氏
(15)Duke Zhuang
陈庄公

?-700-693BC
Chen Wanm

706BC-?
Tian Qi
(16)Duke Xuan
陈宣公
杵臼
?-693-648BC
御寇
?-672BC
(17)Duke Mu
陈穆公

?-648-632BC
少西
夏氏

宗氏
(18)Duke Gong
陈共公

?-632-614BC
御叔
(19)Duke Ling
陈灵公
平國
?-614-599BC
(20)Xia Zhengshu
夏徵舒
?-599BC
(21)Duke Cheng
陈成公

?-599-569BC
(22)Duke Ai
陈哀公

?-569-534BC
招]]
?-534BC
偃師
?-534BC
(23)Prince Liu

?-534BC-?
(24)Duke Hui
陈惠公

?-529-506BC
貞子
(25)Duke Huai
陈怀公

?-506-502BC-?
(26)Duke Min
陈闵公

?-502-478BC

See zh:陈国君主世系图

Rulers of Chen, Hugong to Yougong
6. Duke You of Chen (陳幽公)
5. Duke Shèn of Chen (陳慎公)
4. Duke Xiao of Chen (陈孝公)
2. Duke Shēn of Chen (陈申公)
1. Chen Hugong (陈胡公)
3. Chen Xianggong (陈相公)
Rulers of Chen, Yougong to Wengong
9. Duke Yi of Chen (陳夷公)
8. Duke Wu of Chen (陳武公)
11. Duke Wen of Chen (陳文公)
10. Duke Ping of Chen (陳平公)
7. Duke Xi of Chen (陳僖公)
6. Duke You of Chen (陳幽公)
Rulers of Chen, Wengong to Gonggong
18. Duke Gong of Chen (陳共公)
17. Duke Mu of Chen (陳穆公)
15. Duke Zhuang of Chen (陳莊公)
12. Duke Huan of Chen (陳桓公)
16. Duke Xuan of Chen (陳宣公)
11. Duke Wen of Chen (陳文公)
14. Duke Li of Chen (陳厲公)
13. Chen Tuo (陳佗)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ 《說文解字》陳 段玉裁注
  2. ^ a b 《左傳·昭公十七年》:陈,大皞之虚也
  3. ^ 《史记·货殖列传》:"陈在楚夏之交,通鱼盐之货,其民多贾。"
  4. ^ 《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。'
  5. ^ 《毛詩傳》:"四方高,中央下曰宛丘"
  6. ^ 白壽彝版《中國通史》第03卷 上古時代 第四節 地學
  7. ^ 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。"
  8. ^ Yang 2003, p. 121.
  9. ^ Han 2010, pp. 2776–7.
  10. ^ a b c Han 2010, pp. 2778–9.
  11. ^ 陳姓源于淮陽 陳胡公是得姓始祖及舜帝的後裔 [Chen surname originated in Huaiyang, Duke Hu of Chen is the founding ancestor and a descendant of Emperor Shun] (in Chinese). Xinhua News Agency. 22 March 2014. Archived from the original on May 29, 2015.
  12. ^ Ngô 1479, p. 296.
  13. ^ 《詩經·國風》

Bibliography

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  • Han, Zhaoqi, ed. (2010). "Houses of Chen and Qi". Shiji 史记 (in Chinese). Zhonghua Book Company. ISBN 978-7-101-07272-3.
  • Ngô, Sĩ Liên (1479). Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư [Complete Annals of Dai Viet] (in Vietnamese).
  • Yang, Kuan (2003). Xi Zhou Shi 西周史 [History of the Western Zhou] (in Chinese). Shanghai People's Publishing House. ISBN 978-7-208-04538-5.

Reading

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