Chen Dynasty 陳朝 (557-589) was the fourth and the last of the Southern dynasties in China, eliminated by the Sui Dynasty. This dynasty had very little chance of survival. The devastation of the last years of the Liang Dynasty severely crippled the Chen Dynasty. The last of the Emperors, Hou Zhou, has been described as 'drunk, dissolute,
neglectful of the Great Spirits of Heaven and His Ancestors, addicted to foolish superstition and surrounded by worthless companions.' The Sui distributed pamphlets on his faults causing the population to revolt. He tried to hide with two concubines in a well but was found. Yang Jian spared him however to keep the empire unified.
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 |
| Wu Di 武帝 wu3 di4 |
Chen Ba Xian|陳霸先 chen2 ba4 xian1 |
557-559 |
Yongding (永定 yong3 ding4) 557-559
|
| Wen Di 文帝 wen2 di4 |
Chen Qian|陳蒨 chen2 qian4 |
560-566 |
Tianjia (天嘉 tian1 jia1) 560-566
Tiankang (天康 tian1 kang1) 566
|
| Fei Di 廢帝 fei4 di4 |
Chen Bo Zong|陳伯宗 chen2 bo2 zong1 |
567-568 |
Guangda (光大 guang1 da4) 567-568
|
| Xuan Di 宣帝 xuan1 di4 |
Chen Xu|陳頊 chen2 xu1 |
569-582 |
Taijian (太建 tai4 jian4) 569-582
|
| 後主 hou4 zhu3 |
Chen Shu Bao|陳叔寶 chen2 shu2 bao3 |
583-589 |
Zhide (至德 zhi4 de2) 583-586
Zhenming (禎明 zhen1 ming2) 587-589
|
Last updated: 10-12-2005 17:01:03
