Duke Xuan of Chen (; reigned 692 BC – died 648 BC), personal name Gui Chujiu, was a ruler of the
Chen state.
Accession to the throne
Duke Xuan was a younger son of
Duke Huan, whose brother
Chen Tuo murdered Duke Xuan's eldest brother
Crown Prince Mian and usurped the throne in 707 BC. The army of the neighbouring
Cai state killed Chen Tuo in 706 BC and installed
Duke Li, another brother of Duke Xuan, on the Chen throne.
Duke Li reigned for seven years and died in 700 BC. However, it was his younger brother Lin (
Duke Zhuang) who succeeded him, instead of his son Chen Wan (陳完). After Duke Zhuang's death in 693 BC, Duke Xuan succeeded his brother as ruler of Chen.
Reign
In 689 BC, Chen, together with the states of
Lu,
Song
A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...
, and
Cai, joined the major state of
Qi to attack the state of
Wey, in order to restore
Duke Hui of Wey to the throne.
In 676 BC,
King Hui of Zhou
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by f ...
married a princess of Chen, who became known as
Queen Hui of Zhou.
Duke Xuan's original heir apparent was Crown Prince
Yukou. However, in 672 BC, the 21st year of his reign, Duke Xuan's favourite concubine gave birth to a son named Kuan. Duke Xuan killed Yukou and made Kuan his new heir apparent. Yukou was close to Duke Li's son Chen Wan. Afraid that his life was also in danger, Chen Wan fled to the State of Qi in the northeast.
Duke Huan of Qi
Duke Huan of Qi (), personal name Lü Xiaobai, was a duke of the Qi state, ruling from 685 BC to 643 BC.
Duke Huan and his long-time advisor Guan Zhong managed to transform Qi into China's most powerful polity. Duke Huan is commonly listed amo ...
made Chen Wan an official in charge of manufacturing, and Chen Wan established the Chen (later known as Tian) clan in Qi. The Chen clan of Qi would grow increasingly powerful over the centuries, and eventually
usurped the Qi throne.
In 656 BC, the
hegemon
Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one state over other states, either regional or global.
In Ancient Greece (ca. 8th BC – AD 6th c.), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of the ''hegemon'' ...
Duke Huan of Qi led an alliance of eight states to attack the states of Cai and
Chu
Chu or CHU may refer to:
Chinese history
* Chu (state) (c. 1030 BC–223 BC), a state during the Zhou dynasty
* Western Chu (206 BC–202 BC), a state founded and ruled by Xiang Yu
* Chu Kingdom (Han dynasty) (201 BC–70 AD), a kingdom of the H ...
in the south. Chen was part of the alliance. The allied forces routed Cai, but returned without fighting the Chu. The Qi army needed to cross Chen territory on its way home.
Yuan Taotu, a minister of Chen, was worried that the Qi army would demand resources from Chen and suggested to Duke Huan that the army take an eastern route through the
Dongyi
The Dongyi or Eastern Yi () was a collective term for ancient peoples found in Chinese records. The definition of Dongyi varied across the ages, but in most cases referred to inhabitants of eastern China, then later, the Korean peninsula and Jap ...
territory. Duke Huan agreed, but later discovered his intent and arrested him. Qi then proceeded to attack Chen as punishment.
Duke Xuan reigned for 45 years and died in 648 BC. He was succeeded by his son Kuan, posthumously known as
Duke Mu of Chen.
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Xuan of Chen, Duke
Monarchs of Chen (state)
7th-century BC Chinese monarchs
640s BC deaths