Chen Youding (; 1330–1368), was a

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

military leader who quelled various uprisings at the end of

(including the

Ispah rebellion The Ispah rebellion () were a series of civil wars in the middle of 14th century in Fujian during the Yuan dynasty. The term Ispah might derive from the Persian word "سپاه" (''sepâh''), meaning "army" or " Sepoy". Thus, the rebellion is also ...

). He was finally promoted to the highest official in

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

because of his military leadership and talent.郭造卿，《陳友定傳》福州市志，方志出版社，1998.12
��福清市志，厦门大学出版社出版，1994年4月
��《元史·忠義傳》《明太祖實錄》

Name

He was also called 陈有定 which is also spelled Chen Youding. He was given the name Guo An 国安 or An Guo 安国 meaning 'peaceful country'. He was also called Yongqing (永卿).

Birthplace

He was a native of Yujian, Fuqing County ( 福清县玉涧),

Fuzhou Fuzhou (; , Fuzhounese: Hokchew, ''Hók-ciŭ''), alternately romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute t ...

at the end of

. When he was a teenager, he moved to Qingliu County, Tingzhou Prefecture to work as a farmer, and then joined the Yuan dynasty government army. He was described as a tall, brave and strong man.

Career

After Yuan dynasty General Chen Youding crushed the

Ispah Rebellion The Ispah rebellion () were a series of civil wars in the middle of 14th century in Fujian during the Yuan dynasty. The term Ispah might derive from the Persian word "سپاه" (''sepâh''), meaning "army" or " Sepoy". Thus, the rebellion is also ...

, he continued to rule over the Fujian even after the outbreak of the

Red Turban Rebellion The Red Turban Rebellions () were uprisings against the Yuan dynasty between 1351 and 1368, eventually leading to its collapse. Remnants of the Yuan imperial court retreated northwards and is thereafter known as the Northern Yuan in historiogr ...

. Eventually, forces loyal to

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

founder

Zhu Yuanzhang The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398. As famine, plagues and peasant revolts in ...

(Hongwu Emperor) took over Fujian in 1367. During the Yuan-Ming transition, he was executed by

Influence and contributions

Chen Youding was a Han Chinese general who joined the Yuan dynasty. He was also one of the rare talented military generals in the Mongol-led Yuan government and armies at that time. These characteristics made him famous in the history of China. The

Yuan Shi The ''History of Yuan'' (''Yuán Shǐ''), also known as the ''Yuanshi'', is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the ''Twenty-Four Histories'' of China. Commissioned by the court of the Ming dynasty, in accordance to political ...

《元史》wrote about him in the 'Biography of Loyalty and Righteousness' (《忠义传》). Jie Jin ( 解縉) of the Ming dynasty praised him for "always doing his best" (「始終盡節」),解縉，《月山叢談》 and Wang Pei also praised him as one of the three loyal leaders in

(福建三忠之一).王逄《集》中写道：「閩有三忠，謂福建平章陳友定、僉樞白帖穆爾子壽、漳州達魯花赤叠裏迷失子初也。」

References

Yuan dynasty generals Generals from Fujian People from Fujian 1330 births 1368 deaths