Duke Hu of Chen

Duke Hu's given name was Man (滿) and his xing surname was Gui (媯), and Hu was his posthumous name. He is also commonly known as Hu Gong Man (胡公滿, Man, Duke Hu) and Gui Man. He was said to be a descendant of the legendary sage king Emperor Shun. His father Efu (閼父) served as taozheng (陶正), the official in charge of the manufacture of pottery, for the Zhou state. King Wu of Zhou thought highly of Efu, and gave his eldest daughter, Da Ji (大姬), to Efu's son Man in marriage.[1][2] After King Wu conquered the Shang dynasty to establish the Zhou dynasty in 1046/45 BC, he enfeoffed the descendants of three ancient sage kings in the newly conquered land, known as the San Ke (三恪, "Three Reverent States"), and Man was enfeoffed at the state of Chen, with its capital at Wanqiu, in modern Huaiyang County, Henan Province.[1]

After Duke Hu died, he was succeeded by his son Xihou (犀侯), posthumously known as Duke Shēn of Chen. After the death of Duke Shēn, a younger son of Duke Hu, Gaoyang (皋羊), ascended the throne, to be known as Duke Xiang of Chen.[3]

Duke Hu is honoured as the founding ancestor of the Chen surname, which originated in the state of Chen. Chen is the fifth most common surname in China today, shared by 54 million people within the country and by 80 million people worldwide.[4] Some of his descendants adopted his posthumous name Hu as their surname, and Duke Hu is also considered one of the main ancestors of Hu, the 15th most common surname in China.[5] Dozens of other surnames, including Tian, Yuan, and Che, originated as branches of the Chen surname.[6]

In 1400 AD, Hồ Quý Ly overthrew the Trần dynasty of Vietnam and established the Hồ dynasty (Hồ is the Vietnamese pronunciation for "Hu"). He claimed to be a descendant of Duke Hu and Emperor Shun, and changed the name of Vietnam from Đại Việt to Đại Ngu, or Great Ngu (Ngu is the Vietnamese pronunciation for Yu 虞, the legendary state of Emperor Shun).[7]

Duke Hu's tomb was said to be made of iron and buried under water near the Dragon Lake in Huaiyang County. Archaeologists have found Western Zhou era pottery shards and Warring States-era roof tiles in the area. In 1995, Singaporean businessman Chen Yonghe (陳永和) donated funds to build a new mausoleum and temple complex for Duke Hu in Huaiyang, and it has become a popular pilgrimage site for people of Chen, Hu, and other surnames that originated in the state of Chen.[4][6]