Chen Dynasty
The Chen Dynasty (simplified Chinese: 陈朝; traditional Chinese: 陳朝; pinyin: Chén cháo) (557-589), also known as the Southern Chen Dynasty, was the fourth and last of the Southern dynasties in China, eventually destroyed by the Sui Dynasty.
When the dynasty was founded by Emperor Wu, it was exceedingly weak, possessing only a small portion of the territory once held by its predecessor Liang Dynasty -- and that portion was devastated by wars that had doomed Liang. However, Emperor Wu's successors Emperor Wen and Emperor Xuan were capable rulers, and the state gradually solidified and strengthened, becoming roughly equal in power to rivals Northern Zhou and Northern Qi. After Northern Zhou destroyed Northern Qi in 577, Chen was cornered. To make matters worse, its final emperor Chen Shubao was an incompetent and indulgent ruler, and Chen was eventually destroyed by Northern Zhou's successor state Sui.
Sovereigns of Chen Dynasty (557-589)
| Posthumous name |
Family name and given names |
Period of Reigns |
Era names and their according range of years |
| Convention: Chen + posthumous name |
| Emperor Wu of Chen - Wu Di (武帝 wǔ dì) |
Chen Baxian (陳霸先 chén bà xiān) |
557-559 |
Yongding (永定 yǒng dìng) 557-559 |
| Emperor Wen of Chen - Wen Di (文帝 wén dì) |
Chen Qian (陳蒨 chén qiàn) |
559-566 |
Tianjia (天嘉 tiān jiā) 560-566
Tiankang (天康 tiān kāng) 566 |
| Emperor Fei of Chen - Fei Di (廢帝 fèi dì) |
Chen Bozong (陳伯宗 chén bó zōng) |
566-568 |
Guangda (光大 guāng dà) 566-568 |
| Emperor Xuan of Chen - Xuan Di (宣帝 xuān dì) |
Chen Xu (陳頊 chén xū) |
569-582 |
Taijian (太建 tài jiàn) 569-582 |
| Houzhu (後主 hòu zhǔ) |
Chen Shubao (陳叔寶 chén shú bǎo) |
583-589 |
Zhide (至德 zhì dé) 583-586
Zhenming (禎明 zhēn míng) 587-589 |
Notes
References
External links