Chen (state)

Chen (Chinese: 陈国; Chinese: 陳國; pinyin: Chen Guo) was a state founded by Chen Hugong (陈胡公) during the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. It flourished from c. 1045 BC–479 BC. Its capital was Wanqiu, in present-day Huaiyang County in the plains of eastern Henan province. Chen (surname), the 4th most popular surname in the world, and members of Hu (surname) clan would claim descent from the Chen state founder Chen Hu Gong. Chen Hugong in turn descended from the legendary Emperor Shun.

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陳
Simplified Chinese陈

Name

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

Territory

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
Chen territory (east China)

Its capital was Wanqiu, in present-day Huaiyang County in the plains of eastern Henan province.[4][5][6]

The Shijing (《詩經·國風》《陳風·宛丘》) recorded the following about the Chen capital [to be translated]:[7][8]

子之湯兮，宛丘之上兮。洵有情兮，而無望兮。
坎其擊鼓，宛丘之下。無冬無夏，值其鷺羽。
坎其擊缶，宛丘之道。無冬無夏，值其鷺翿。
《詩經·國風·陳風·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).[9][10]

Duke Shēn of Chen, son of Hugong then became second emperor of Chen.[11]

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
  • The founding emperor Chen Hugong is credited with being the originator of the Chen (surname), now the fourth most popular surname in the world[12]
  • The Chen clan would later found the Chen Dynasty of China and then the Trần dynasty, a golden age of Vietnam (陈朝 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).[13]
  • In ancient times 陈 sounded similar to 东 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

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》。[14]

Rulers

The Chen state 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. Chen Hugong
  2. Duke Shēn of Chen [11]
  3. Chen Xianggong
  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
  20. Xia Zhengshu
  21. Duke Cheng
  22. Duke Ai
  23. Prince Liu
  24. Chuan Fengxu
  25. Duke Hui
  26. Duke Huai
  27. Duke Min

Table

To be translated

Ruler Title (Chinese)Other Name (Chinese)Reign (BC)Number of yearsIdentity
1 Chen Hugong 胡公滿1045—98660開國之君 Founded the country
2 Duke Shēn of Chen [11] 申公犀侯前985年—前961年在位25年胡公之子
3 相公皋羊前960年—前939年在位22年申公之弟
4 孝公突前938年—前905年在位34年申公之子
5 慎公圉戎前904年—前855年在位50年孝公之子
6 幽公寧前854年—前832年在位23年慎公之子
7 僖公孝前831年—前796年在位36年幽公之子
8 武公靈前795年—前781年在位15年僖公之子
9 夷公說前780年—前778年在位3年武公之子
10 平公燮前777年—前755年在位23年夷公之弟
11 文公圉前754年—前745年在位10年平公之子
12 桓公鮑前744年—前707年在位38年文公之子
13 -佗前707年─前706年在位8月桓公之弟
14 厲公躍前706年─前700年在位7年桓公之子
15 莊公林前699年—前693年在位7年厲公之弟
16 宣公杵臼前692年—前648年在位45年莊公之弟
17 穆公款前647年—前632年在位16年宣公之子
18 共公朔前631年—前614年在位18年穆公之子
19 靈公平國前613年—前599年在位15年共公之子
20 -徵舒前599在位数月宣公曾孙
21 成公午前598年—前569年在位30年靈公之子
22 哀公弱前568年—前534年在位35年成公之子
23 -留前534年三月至十一月在位9月哀公之子
24 -穿封戌前533年—前529年在位5年楚国大夫
25 惠公吳前529年—前506年在位28年哀公之孫
26 懷公柳前505年—前502年在位4年惠公之子
27 湣公越前501年—前478年在位24年懷公之子

註1：陳幽公以前的君主在位年，皆為推測所得，僅供參考。

Family tree

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
  • 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

References
  1. 《說文解字》陳 段玉裁注
  2. 《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. 《詩經·國風》中有一首《陳風·宛丘》
  8. 《詩經·國風·陳風·宛丘》
  9. Yang 2003, p. 121.
  10. Han 2010, pp. 2776–7.
  11. Han 2010, pp. 2778–9.
  12. 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.
  13. Ngô 1479, p. 296.
  14. 《詩經·國風》

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