Duke Hu of Chen (; fl. 11th century BC) was the

posthumous title A posthumous name is an honorary name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments ...

given to Gui Man ( Chinese: 媯滿, with "Man" being his

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

and " Gui" being his ancestral temple surname) by his father-in-law,

King Wu of Zhou King Wu of Zhou (; died ), personal name Ji Fa, was the founding king of the Chinese Zhou dynasty. The chronology of his reign is disputed but is generally thought to have begun around 1046 BCE and ended with his death three years later. Ki ...

, who founded the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...

in 1046 BC. Duke Hu was the founder of the Chen state, a dynastic vassal state of the Zhou dynasty located in modern-day eastern

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

. During the

Western Zhou The Western Zhou ( zh, c=西周, p=Xīzhōu; 771 BC) was a period of Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Zhou dynasty. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty at the Battle of Muye and ended in 77 ...

, commoners began to be identified by their place of residence, which would go on to become their lineage surname. As the first ruler of Chen state, Duke Hu is therefore regarded as the originator of the surname Chen, one of the more prevalent family names in China, although he is not directly related as apical ancestor to many of the people who carry the name. After being granted the posthumous title of Duke Hu, his descendants began to use Hu as their surname. It was common during this time for descendants to take the posthumous title as their lineage surname, just as it was common, if not more so, to use a place name as a surname. Duke Hu of Chen is thus also considered a founding ancestor of those with the surname Hu. The rulers of the Hồ (Hu) dynasty of Vietnam claimed to be Duke Hu's descendants.

Biography

Duke Hu was said to be a descendant of the legendary sage king

Emperor Shun Emperor Shun ( zh, c=帝舜, p=Dì Shùn) was a legendary leader of ancient China, regarded by some sources as one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors being the last of the Five Emperors. Tradition holds that he lived sometime between 229 ...

. His father Efu (閼父) served as ''taozheng'' (陶正), the official in charge of the manufacture of

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

, for the Zhou state.

thought highly of Efu, and gave his eldest daughter, Da Ji (大姬), to Efu's son Man in marriage. After King Wu conquered the

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou d ...

to establish the

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 Huaiyang District () is a district in the prefecture-level city of Zhoukou in the east of Henan, Henan province, People's Republic of China. It is located in the southeastern part of Henan Province and the central part of Zhoukou, Zhoukou City. T ...

Province. 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 Chen, Gaoyang (皋羊), ascended the throne, to be known as Duke Xiang of Chen.

Family

Wife: Daji (大姬), Zhou Wuwang's eldest daughter Children * Chen Shengong (陳申公), older son, 2nd ruler of Chen * Chen Xianggong ( 陳相公), younger son, 3rd ruler of Chen

Legacy

Duke Hu is honoured as the founding ancestor of the Chen surname, which originated in the state of Chen. As of 2020, Chen is the 5th most common surname in China and 4th most common in the world, shared by 70 million people within the country and over 100 million people worldwide (in 2014, there were 54 million in China and 80 million worldwide). Duke Hu's descendants adopted his posthumous name Hu as their surname, and Duke Hu is considered the primogenitor of the Hu clan, the 15th most common surname in China. Dozens of other surnames, including

Tian Tian () is one of the oldest Chinese terms for heaven and a key concept in Chinese mythology, philosophy, and cosmology. During the Shang dynasty (17th―11th century BCE), the Chinese referred to their highest god as '' Shangdi'' or ''Di'' (, ...

, Yuan, and Che, originated as branches of the Hu surname. The Chen clan would later found the

Chen dynasty The Chen dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Chen (南陳 / 南朝陳) in historiography, was a Dynasties in Chinese history, Chinese imperial dynasty and the fourth and last of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Southern dynasties, ...

of China and then the

Trần dynasty The Trần dynasty (Vietnamese language, Vietnamese: Nhà Trần, chữ Nôm: 茹陳; Vietnamese language, Vietnamese: triều Trần, chữ Hán: ikt:朝ikt:陳, 朝wikt:陳, 陳), officially Đại Việt (Chữ Hán: 大越), was a List ...

(陈朝), a golden age of

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. (Trần is the Vietnamese pronunciation of Chen). In 1400 AD,

Hồ Quý Ly Hồ Quý Ly ( vi-hantu, 胡季犛, 1336 – 1407?) ruled Đại Ngu (Vietnam) from 1400 to 1401 as the founding emperor of the short-lived Hồ dynasty. Quý Ly rose from a post as an official served the court of the ruling Trần dynasty and ...

overthrew the

and established the

Hồ dynasty The Hồ dynasty (Vietnamese: , chữ Nôm: 茹胡; Vietnamese: ''triều'' ''Hồ'', chữ Hán: wikt:朝, 朝wikt:胡, 胡), officially Đại Ngu (; chữ Hán: 大虞), was a short-lived List of Vietnamese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasty cons ...

. Hồ is the Vietnamese pronunciation for Hú (胡). He claimed to be a descendant of Duke Hu and Emperor Shun, and changed the name of Vietnam from

Đại Việt Đại Việt (, ; literally Great Việt), was a Vietnamese monarchy in eastern Mainland Southeast Asia from the 10th century AD to the early 19th century, centered around the region of present-day Hanoi. Its early name, Đại Cồ Việt,(ch ...

to Đại Ngu (大虞), or Great Ngu (Ngu is the Vietnamese pronunciation for Yú (虞), the legendary pre-enthronement fief of

Tomb

Duke Hu's tomb was said to be made of iron and buried under water near the Dragon Lake in

. Archaeologists have found Western Zhou era pottery shards and

Warring States The Warring States period in Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and struggles for gre ...

-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 Hu/Chen 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.

Memorial

A memorial of Chen Hu Gong (陈胡公纪念堂) has been built in

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

, capital of

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern 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 capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

References

Citations

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Che, Duke Hu of Monarchs of Chen (state) 11th-century BC Chinese monarchs Founding monarchs in Asia