Duke Hu of Chen

Duke Hu of Chen
陳胡公
1st ruler of Chen
Reign1046/45 BC – ?
SuccessorDuke Shēn of Chen
SpouseDa Ji (大姬; daughter of King Wu of Zhou)
IssueDuke Shēn of Chen
Duke Xiang of Chen
Names
Gui Man (媯滿)
Posthumous name
Duke Hu (胡公) (by Chen state)
King Hu (胡王) (by Xin dynasty)
Temple name
Tongzu (統祖) (by Xin dynasty)
HouseGui
DynastyChen
FatherEfu (閼父)

Duke Hu of Chen (Chinese: 陈胡公 or 胡公满; Chinese: 陳胡公 or 胡公滿; pinyin: Chén Hú Gōng or Hu Gong Man; fl. 11th century BC) was the posthumous title given to Gui Man (Chinese: 媯滿, with "Man" being his given name and "Gui" being his ancestral temple surname) by his father-in-law, King Wu of Zhou, who founded the Zhou dynasty 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.

During the Western Zhou, 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.[1] 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.

  1. ^ Du Ruofu (杜若甫) (1986). "Surnames in China". Journal of Chinese Linguistics. 14 (2): 319. JSTOR 23767123.