Chen Chang

This article is about the Chen dynasty prince. For the contemporary Taiwanese actor, see Chang Chen.
In this Chinese name, the family name is Chan (陳).

Chen Chang (陳昌) (537[1] – 5 May 560[2]), courtesy name Jingye (敬業), formally Prince Xian of Hengyang (衡陽獻王),[3] was an imperial prince of the Chinese Chen dynasty. He was the sixth and only surviving son of the founding emperor Emperor Wu (Chen Baxian), but as he was detained as a hostage by Western Wei and Western Wei's successor state Northern Zhou, was unable to succeed to the throne when Emperor Wu died in 559. Rather, his cousin Chen Qian took the throne as Emperor Wen. Northern Zhou finally allowed him to return to Chen in 560, but as he wrote impolite letters to Emperor Wen, Emperor Wen felt threatened (as he viewed the letters as implied demands for the throne), and he sent his trusted general Hou Andu to escort Chen Chang. Hou subsequently drowned Chen Chang in the Yangtze River.

  1. ^ According to Chen Chang's biography in Book of Chen, he was 16 (by East Asian reckoning) when he was made Administrator of Wuxing in the year Hou Jing's rebellion was put down (552). (景平，拜长城国世子、吴兴太守，时年十六。 ) Chen Shu, vol.14. Thus by calculation, his birth year should be 537.
  2. ^ According to Emperor Wen's biography in Book of Chen, Chen Chang died on the bingzi day of the 3rd month of the 1st year of the Tianjia era of his reign. This corresponds to 5 May 560 in the Julian calendar. ([天嘉元年三月]丙子，衡阳王昌薨。) Chen Shu, vol.03
  3. ^ (衡阳献王昌字敬业，高祖第六子也。) Chen Shu, vol.14