Emperor Wu of Chen

Emperor Wu of Chen (陳武帝) (503–559), personal name Chen Baxian (陳霸先), courtesy name Xingguo (興國), nickname Fasheng (法生), was the first emperor of the Chinese Chen Dynasty. He first distinguished himself as a Liang Dynasty general during the campaign against the rebel general Hou Jing, and he was progressively promoted. In 555, he seized power after a coup against his superior, the general Wang Sengbian, and in 557 he forced Emperor Jing to yield the throne to him, establishing Chen Dynasty. He died in 559, and as his only surviving son Chen Chang was held by Northern Zhou as a hostage, he was succeeded by his nephew Chen Qian (Emperor Wen).

Background and early career

Chen Baxian was born in 503, the second year of the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang (the founding emperor of Liang Dynasty). He was from Wuxing Commandery (吳興, roughly modern Huzhou, Zhejiang). His family traced its ancestry to Chen Shi (陳寔), a county magistrate and Confucian scholar during Han Dynasty. During the lineage that was traced, Chen's ancestors generally served as low-level officials, although several were important figures in imperial governments of Jin Dynasty and the subsequent Southern dynasties, including Chen Baxian's grandfather Chen Daoju (陳道巨). However, no record indicated that Chen Baxian's father Chen Wenzan (陳文讚) was an official. His mother was a Lady Dong, probably Chen Wenzan's wife.