Chen Wenlong (, 9 March 1232 – 17 January 1277) was a scholar-general in the last years of the

Southern Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, endin ...

and early

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

. He became the

city god A tutelary (; also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety and ...

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

and

Putian Putian ( zh, s= , Putian dialect: ''Pó-chéng''), also known as Puyang (莆阳) and Puxian (莆仙), historically known as Hinghwa/Hinghua ( zh, s=兴化, t=興化), is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. I ...

Biography

Chen was born on 9 March 1232 (the 16th Day of Lunar 2 Month) in Yuhu Village,

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

province (modern Licheng District, Putian). He passed local examination in 1251, and was selected into

Taixue __NOTOC__ Taixue (Tai-shueh; ), or sometimes called the "Imperial Academy", "Imperial School", "Imperial University" or "Imperial Central University", was the highest rank of educational establishment in Ancient China created during the Han dynast ...

in 1256. In 1268, he participated in examinations in the capital, during which he was personally awarded first rank by the

Emperor Duzong Emperor Duzong of Song (2 May 1240 – 12 August 1274), personal name Zhao Qi, was the 15th Emperor of China, emperor of the Song dynasty of China and the sixth emperor of the Song dynasty#Southern Song, 1127–1279, Southern Song dynasty. He ...

. Jia Sidao, who was the

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

at that time, appreciated his talent for literary grace. Chen was later sent to

Fuzhou, Jiangxi Fuzhou is a prefecture-level city in the northeastern part of Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China. Fuzhou is located to the south of the provincial capital Nanchang, bordered in the east by Fujian Province. Its total area is . The popu ...

. Soon after his loose power, the Yuan army invaded the Song empire and within a short period, the whole empire entered a chaotic situation. Emperor Gong had to surrender to the Yuan.

Lu Xiufu Lu Xiufu (8 November 1236 – 19 March 1279), courtesy name Junshi (), was a Chinese statesman and military commander who lived in the final years of the Song dynasty. Originally from Yancheng (present-day Jianhu County) in Jiangsu Province, al ...

and

Zhang Shijie Zhang Shijie () was a Chinese admiral, military general, and politician during the Mongol invasion of China. Zhang was born to a prosperous family in present-day Hebei (part of the Liao empire, then Jin empire). After the fall of the Jin to ...

escaped to Fujian and installed Duanzong as the new emperor in 1275. Chen was summoned back to Fujian, and was ordered to stay guard at Fuzhou, the provisional capital at that time. The Yuan army marched into Fujian in the next year, Duanzong was forced to flee to

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

, leaving Chen to resist in Fujian. Chen came to his homeland to recruit. He resisted in Xinghua (modern

) for two years. Later, he was captured and handed over to the Yuan. He refused to consider the thought of a surrender. He was taken to Dadu (modern Beijing). In the middle of the way, he starved and died in

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

in the same year. His uncle Chen Zan () continued his career safeguarding Fuzhou. Chen Wenlong and Chen Zan were posthumously appointed as the

City God A tutelary (; also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety and ...

of Fuzhou and Putian respectively during the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

. Chen Wenlong was posthumously given the title ''Shuibu Shangshu'' (水部尚書, "''Secretary of Water Affairs''"), and later ''Zhen Hai Wang'' (鎮海王, "''Prince of Guard Oceans''") by Chinese court. Chen was also regarded as one of oceanic deities in

and

. He was called ''Shuang Zhong'' (雙忠, "''two loyalists''") together with his uncle Chen Zan by Putianese, while

Fuzhounese The Fuzhou language ( zh, t=福州話, s=福州话, p=Fúzhōuhuà; Foochow Romanized, FR: ), also Foochow, Hokchew, Hok-chiu, or Fuzhounese, is the Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige variety of the Eastern Min branch of Min Chinese spoken ...

call him ''Shangshu Gong'' (尚書公, "''Duke Secretary''").

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Wenlong 1232 births 1277 deaths Generals from Fujian Song dynasty generals Suicides by starvation Politicians from Putian Sea and river gods Folk saints Deified Chinese men Burials in Hangzhou Song dynasty zhuangyuan