The 陈 surname

Chen (陈) is one of the most populous surnames in Taishan. The Chen of Taishan mostly honor Chen Hui (陈辉; art name Fengtai, 凤台), a jinshi and remonstrance counselor of the Southern Song, as their great founding ancestor, and say that his descendants moved south in the Southern Song from Zhuji Lane (珠玑巷) in Nanxiong (南雄) to Gugang Prefecture (古冈州; around present-day Xinhui and Taishan), where they divided into several major lines: Chongpan (冲泮), the Six Villages of Duntou (墩头六村), Chongjin (冲金), Wencun (汶村) and others; on Xiachuandao (下川岛) there is also a line that came from Zhongshan (中山) in the Qing.^[1] According to Origins of Taishan's Surnames (《台山姓氏源流》), Vol. 1, in the late 1990s the Chen of Taishan already numbered over 150,000, about one-seventh of the city's population.^[1]

Origin of the surname[edit]

The Chen surname comes from the Gui (妫) surname; the Chen are descendants of Shun (舜). After King Wu of Zhou (周武王) conquered the Shang, he enfeoffed Gui Man (妫满), a descendant of Shun, with Chen (around present-day Huaiyang (淮阳), Henan), founding the state of Chen; after his death Gui Man was given the posthumous name Duke Hu (胡公), and later generations honored him as the progenitor of the Chen surname. The state of Chen was destroyed by Chu in 478 BCE, and its ruling family's descendants took the name of the state as their surname. The best known ancestral commandery of the Chen is Yingchuan (颍川), so “Yingchuan” is often used as the hall name.^[2][1]

The line of the southward migration as the genealogies of the Taishan Chen give it is this: Chen Wen (陈文), a descendant of Chen Shi (陈寔), magistrate of Taiqiu (太丘长) under the Eastern Han, was demoted and moved from Fujian to Zhuji Lane in Nanxiong; Chen Wen's grandson Wanshan (万山) was the father of Chen Hui. Chen Hui's first wife, née Kuang (邝), bore four sons, Mo (谟), Xuan (宣), Ying (英) and Kai (恺), and his concubine, née Hou (侯), bore three, Run (闰), Tu (图) and Ren (仁); after moving south the seven brothers scattered across the Pearl River Delta and the Chaoshan region, and the descendants of the four branches of Mo, Xuan, Ying and Kai live mainly in Taishan, Xinhui and Jiangmen.^[1][3]

Coming to Taishan[edit]

The genealogies of the various lines differ on when the move south took place. The record left by Chen Mo (陈谟遗牒), as quoted in Origins of Taishan's Surnames, says Chen Mo and Chen Xuan moved from Nanxiong to Gugang Prefecture in the 1st year of Kaixi of the Southern Song (1205);^[1] the Genealogy of Ying Weng of the Chen (《陈氏英翁族谱》) of Lujing (鹿颈), Enping (恩平), on the other hand, says that Chen Hui's sons moved south to escape disorder in the 9th year of Xianchun of the Southern Song (1273), the sons of Mo Weng of the eldest branch going to Dexingli (德行里) in Gugang and Kai Weng of the fourth branch going to Wencun in Haiyan (海晏).^[4] Another record, quoted from the Taishan County Gazetteer of Local Lore (《台山县乡土志》), gives the places in Taishan settled by Chen families from Zhuji Lane as Chunchang (春场) in Haiyan, Dongkeng (东坑) in Duhu (都斛), Chongjin in Chixi (赤溪), Wencun and others.^[5]

The Chongpan branch

Chen Mo (courtesy name Shichang, 世昌), according to his own record, was born in the 9th year of Qiandao of the Southern Song (1173) and died in the 2nd year of Chunyou (1242). He was a jinshi by provincial recommendation (乡举进士) and was appointed vice minister of justice but did not take up the post. In the 1st year of Kaixi (1205) he moved from Nanxiong to Duruan (杜阮), Xinhui, and later moved again to Dexingli in Gugang Prefecture, which is present-day Chongpan in Sanba (三八), Taishan; he is the first-generation ancestor of the Chongpan Chen. His grave is on Yaji Mountain in Ping'an jia (平安甲丫髻山).^[1]

Chen Mo's four sons were Wenshen (文诜), Wenzhen (文振), Wenlong (文龙) and Wenqi (文起), whose descendants moved to Haiyan, Guanghai (广海), Sanhe (三合), and to Xinhui, Yangjiang (阳江), Zhongshan and other places; the Chen of Sanhe Town mostly came from descendants of the Mo and Ying branches around Chongpan, Shuinan (水南) and Huangcun (潢村). The Wenqi branch moved from Chongpan to Huangcun and then to Shuinan. Chen Zhongzhen (陈仲真), grandson of Chen Mo and son of Wenqi, is recorded by the clan as a commandant (校尉) of the Song who was killed while suppressing bandits around Baifeng Mountain (百峰山); in the 24th year of Daoguang of the Qing (1844) he was posthumously ennobled, and a temple was built for sacrifices to him.^[1]

The generation names of the Chongpan Chen at the time of their first migration were “籍 (Ji) 凤 (Feng) 毓 (Yu) 家 (Jia) 秀 (Xiu), 和 (He) 敬 (Jing) 发 (Fa) 贤 (Xian) 良 (Liang); 文 (Wen) 明 (Ming) 应 (Ying) 显 (Xian) 达 (Da), 历 (Li) 世 (Shi) 永 (Yong) 传 (Chuan) 扬 (Yang)”; the Wenqi branch of Shuinan also has lines such as “圣 (Sheng) 文 (Wen) 万 (Wan) 世 (Shi) 昌 (Chang), 应 (Ying) 朝 (Chao) 瑞 (Rui) 国 (Guo) 祥 (Xiang)”, and later asked Chen Botao (陈伯陶) of Dongguan (东莞) to draw up new generation names, with lines such as “仁 (Ren) 厚 (Hou) 承 (Cheng) 恩 (En) 泽 (Ze), 书 (Shu) 香 (Xiang) 启 (Qi) 俊 (Jun) 良 (Liang)”.^[1]

The Duntou Six Villages branch

Chen Xuan (courtesy name Shidao, 世道) moved in the 1st year of Kaixi (1205) to Shixi Village (石溪村), Xiadong (霞洞), Xinhui, and his descendants lived at Shitou (石头), Xinhui.^[1] According to the Duntou Chen Genealogy (《陈氏族谱》), printed in lead type in the 20th year of the Republic (1931), early in the Yuan his descendant Chen Congshan (陈从善; Tianxiang, 天祥) moved to Dongshanli (东山里), Shangge bao (上阁堡), Dongdu (峒都), Xinning (新宁), and became the first-generation ancestor of the Chen of the Six Villages of Duntou;^[4] in the 2nd year of Zhengtong of the Ming (1437), Yuankang (元康), of the fifth generation from Congshan, moved to Langmei (朗美), Chikan (赤坎), while Yuanfu (元福) stayed at Duntou in Shangge.^[4][1] The Yuankang branch multiplied around Dawan (大湾), Xiudun (秀墩), Zhongli (中礼), Xiqiao (西乔) and Lianzhou (莲洲), together called the “Six Villages,” with more than 40 villages; the Yuanfu branch spread to Wufu (五福), Jun'an (均安), Fuyue (浮月) and other villages. Some of the Chen of Shanbei (山背) in Guanghai, Chaozhong (朝中) in Chonglou (冲蒌) and Xiachuan (下川) all branched off from the Six Villages; two branches of the Shanbei Chen moved there from the Six Villages in the Jiajing period of the Ming.^[1]

The first set of generation names of the Six Villages Chen is “祖 (Zu) 德 (De) 赐 (Ci) 光 (Guang) 裕 (Yu), 明 (Ming) 廷 (Ting) 擢 (Zhuo) 茂 (Mao) 良 (Liang); 学 (Xue) 宜 (Yi) 宗 (Zong) 孔 (Kong) 孟 (Meng), 华 (Hua) 国 (Guo) 以 (Yi) 文 (Wen) 章 (Zhang)”. Langmei Village has the Tiling Chen Gong Ancestral Hall (提领陈公祠), commemorating Congshan's grandson Chen Youzhi (陈有志), known as Chen Tiling (陈提领).^[1]

The Chongjin branch

Chen Ying (courtesy name Shide, 世德) was Chen Hui's third son. His eldest son, Chen Fa (陈法), once served as prefect of Liuzhou (柳州); moving south, he came ashore by the sea at what is now Qitan (旗坛) and chose Chongjin to settle in.^[1] Chen Fa's descendants live at Beihuo (北活) and Zhongxiang (中巷) in Shangze (上泽); at Mayuan (麻园), Gulao (古劳), Fengjiang (丰江), Dongkeng and Baishi (白石) in Duhu; and in Chongjin, Kangkeng (康坑) and other villages; the descendants of Chen Ying's fourth son, Chen Wu (陈悟), moved to Dengchong (邓冲), Chenbian (陈边), Datang (大塘), Guanghai and other places.^[1] On the order and number of Chen Fa's sons, Origins of Taishan's Surnames and the Lujing genealogy of Enping differ somewhat.^[4]

The Wencun branch

Chen Kai (courtesy name Shicheng, 世诚) was Chen Hui's fourth son; his descendants live together around Wencun in what is now Haiyan Town (海宴镇).^[1] Accounts differ on when he settled there: according to the stele inscription in the village's Sansheng Hall (三圣堂), Chen Kai settled in Wencun in the 9th year of Qiandao of the Southern Song (1173);^[6] the Lujing genealogy of Enping gives the 9th year of Xianchun (1273).^[4] The village name “Wencun” is said to have been chosen in memory of Shashui Village (沙水村) in Nanxiong.^[7] From the 2nd to the 4th year of Shunzhi of the Qing (1645–1647), Chen Wangdao (陈王道), a juren of Wencun, led the building of a city wall, moat and gates, and Wencun was for a time called “Wencun City” (汶村城); in the 12th year of Shunzhi (1655) Wencun was taken by Wang Xing (王兴), a general of the Southern Ming, and many villagers were killed or wounded.^[7]

The first set of generation names of the Wencun Chen is “诒 (Yi) 谋 (Mou) 燕 (Yan) 翼 (Yi), 崇 (Chong) 德 (De) 象 (Xiang) 贤 (Xian); 健 (Jian) 顺 (Shun) 中 (Zhong) 正 (Zheng), 光 (Guang) 华 (Hua) 济 (Ji) 美 (Mei)”.^[1]

The Xiachuan branch

One line of the Xiachuan Chen originated in Huiyang (惠阳) and came by way of Zhongshan to Danshuikeng Village (淡水坑村) on Xiachuan in the 1st year of Qianlong of the Qing (1736), 5 households and 23 people when they first arrived; in the 3rd year of Xuantong (1911) they built the Chaolie Dafu Chen Gong Ancestral Hall (朝列大夫陈公祠), with the couplet “The bounty bequeathed from Huiyang; the lineage founded at Danshui” (惠阳遗泽，淡水开宗). Another line descends from the Xianzuo (贤佐) branch of Dawan in the Six Villages and lives in Pingbu (平埠), Maowan (茅湾), Zhuwan (竹湾), Dongchong (东冲), Chuanqian (川前) and other villages; its generation names are the same as those of the Six Villages. There are also Chen on Xiachuan who came from Duanfen (端芬).^[1]

Distribution[edit]

According to Origins of Taishan's Surnames, Vol. 1, the Chen of Taishan live mainly at Chongpan and Shuinan in Sanba; in the Six Villages around Duntou in Shangge and Langmei in Chikan; at Chongjin, Shangze and Duhu; at Wencun in Haiyan; in the villages of Sanhe Town; and at Guanghai, Chonglou, Xiachuan and elsewhere. The book estimates that the Taishan Chen living overseas also number no fewer than 150,000, most of them in the United States and Canada. These are figures from the late 1990s.^[1]

Ancestral halls and overseas Chinese magazines[edit]

• Tiling Chen Gong Ancestral Hall, in Langmei Village, Chikan, commemorating Chen Youzhi, an ancestor of the Six Villages Chen.^[1]
• Chaolie Dafu Chen Gong Ancestral Hall, in Danshuikeng Village on Xiachuan, built in the 3rd year of Xuantong (1911).^[1]
• Wencun Chen Ancestral Hall (汶村陈氏祖祠), in Wencun, Haiyan Town;^[6] according to a 2012 report, Wencun has 11 ancestral halls in all.^[7]
• Yingchuan Monthly (《颍川月刊》), published by the Taishan Yingchuan Association (台山市颍川联谊会).^[8]

People[edit]

• Chen Zhongzhen, of the Song, a descendant of the Wenqi branch of Chongpan, recorded by the clan as a commandant; killed while suppressing bandits, and posthumously ennobled in the Daoguang period of the Qing.^[1]
• Chen Yufu (陈遇夫) and Chen Han (陈瀚), father and son, of the Six Villages, who one after the other placed first in the provincial examination (jieyuan, 解元).^[1]
• Chen Wangdao, of Wencun, a juren of the late Ming and early Qing, who led the building of the Wencun city wall.^[7]
• Chen Yixi (陈宜禧), of the Six Villages, founder of the Xinning Railway (新宁铁路).^[1]
• Chen Boqi (陈伯齐), of Wencun, architect.^[1]
• Chen Yaozhen (陈耀真), of Shangze, ophthalmologist.^[1]
• Chen Zhuolin (陈卓林), of the Six Villages, formerly chief of staff of the air force.^[1]
• Julius Chan (朱利叶斯·陈), whose ancestral home is Annan (安南), Doushan (斗山), formerly prime minister of Papua New Guinea.^[1]