Chen (state)

Chen (陳) was a Zhou dynasty state of ancient China. Its capital was Wanqiu, in present-day Huaiyang County in the plains of eastern Henan province.

State of Chen 陳國
c. 1045 BC–479 BC
Capital	Wanqiu (宛丘)
Government	Monarchy
History
• Established	c. 1045 BC
• Conquered by 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
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Chén Gwoyeu Romatzyh Chern Wade–Giles Ch'en2 IPA [ʈʂʰə̌n] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Chàhn Jyutping Can4 Southern Min Tâi-lô Tân Middle Chinese Middle Chinese ɖin Old Chinese Baxter–Sagart (2014) *lri[n]

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 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.