Chen (surname)

As well as being a surname, the Chinese character 陳=陈 can also mean 'to describe' or 'ancient'. It is a combination of the radical 阝 and the phonetic component 東/东.

Chen descends from the legendary sage king Emperor Shun from around 2200 BC via the surname Gui (媯).^[9][10]

A millennium after Emperor Shun, when King Wu of Zhou established the Zhou dynasty (c. 1046 BC), he enfeoffed his son-in-law Gui Man, also known as Duke Hu of Chen or Chen Hugong (陈胡公). Chen Hugong, a descendant of Emperor Shun, found the State of Chen in modern Huaiyang County, Henan Province.^[9][10] In 479 BC, Chen was absorbed by Chu and became the Chu capital. The people of Chen adopted the name of their former state as their surname.^[9][10]

At the end of the Qin dynasty, Chen Sheng initiated the Chen Sheng Wu Guang uprising that overthrew the Qin and paved the way for the Han dynasty, one of China's golden ages.^[11][12]

During the Northern and Southern dynasties period (420–589), Chen Baxian established the Chen dynasty (557–589), the fourth and the last of the Southern dynasties, which was eventually absorbed by the Sui dynasty.^[13][14][15]

During this period, the nomadic Xianbei people had systematically assimilated into China's agrarian culture and adopted Han Chinese surnames under the state directives of Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei. The Xianbei subjects whose surname of "侯莫陳" (Hóumòchén) were converted to "陳" (Chen).^[16]

Some descendants of Chen migrated to Vietnam (Dai Viet) and established the Trần dynasty, a golden age in Vietnam. Their original home was Fujian, and they migrated under Trần Kinh (陳京 Chén Jīng). Trần Thái Tông (陈太宗 Chen Taizong) became the founding emperor of the Tran dynasty, and his descendants would rule Vietnam for more than a century, expanding Vietnam's territory and promoting developments in language, chu nom, culture, and art. Certain members of the clan could still speak Chinese, like when a Yuan dynasty envoy had a meeting with the Chinese-speaking Tran Prince Trần Quốc Tuấn in 1282.^{[17][18][19][20][21][22][23]}

During the Yuan–Ming transition, Chen Youliang founded the Chen Han dynasty, which helped overthrow Yuan rule and pave the way for the Ming dynasty.^{[24][full citation needed]}

In the 20th century, Chen Duxiu cofounded the Chinese Communist Party and became its first general secretary, but was eventually expelled from the party and condemned by Mao due to advocating Trotskyism.^[25]

Chen is the 5th most common surname in mainland China (around 70 million) and 4th most common in the world (around 80–100 million, including all its variants like Chan, Tan, Tran).

A 2013 study found that it was the 5th most common surname, shared by 61,300,000 people or 4.610% of the population, with the province with the most being Guangdong.^[26]

According to 2018 census, it was 5th most common in mainland China at around 63 million, but 4th most common surname in the world with 80–100 million people. It is the most common Chinese surname overseas.^[7]

In 2019 Chen was again the fifth most common surname in mainland China. It is the most common surname in the southern provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong.^[27]

Hong Kong has around 700,000 using the spelling "Chan" and 61,000 using the spelling "Chen", so in total around 700,000–800,000 Chen (陈), which ranks first in Hong Kong.

In Thailand, last names are more unique therefore the Chinese last name Chen ranks 2nd with 88,000 and with an incidence of 1 to 900.

There are 187,000 Chens in the US, as of 2014. It is the 30th most common last name in California where there are 70,000. 11,300 in Texas, 6,800 Illinois, 5,900 Maryland. New Jersey was undercounted with data missing; New York had 5,400.

In Canada there are 32,900 Chens; 16,600 Ontario and 11,000 British Columbia.^[28]

Chen is usually one of the top 5 common Asian last names and top 3 most common Chinese in the US.

• Chen, used in Mandarin
• Dan, used in Thailand
• Chan, used in Cantonese in Hong Kong, Macao, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Philippines
• Chin, used in Hakka in Singapore and Malaysia and Taishanese in America, and Japanese
• Gin, used in Taishanese
• Jin, used in Korean
• Tan, used in Hokkien, Teochew and Hainanese in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand
• Tang or Taing, used in Teochew in Cambodia and Thailand. Occasionally in Singapore and Malaysia.
• Ting or Ding, used in Fuzhou
• Trần, Sấn used in Vietnamese
• Zen, used in Shanghainese
• Sen, used as an alternative spelling in Limbu, Limbuwan

This list includes Chen, Chan, Chin, Tran, Tan, Tang and other common spellings of 陈

• Chen Fu Zhen Ren (陳府真人), ancestral deity of Indonesian Chinese residing throughout Banyuwangi Regency, Java, Bali, and Lombok, also worshipped by Balinese and Javanese (Kejawen).
• Chen Jinggu (陳靖姑), Taoist deity and protective goddess of women, children, and pregnancy, also known as Lady Linshui (臨水夫人). She is worshipped in Fujian, Taiwan, South China, and across East Asia and Southeast Asia.
• Chen-style tai chi, Northern Chinese martial art and the original form of tai chi.
• Tran (surname), second most common Vietnamese surname, the Vietnamese spelling of 陳
• Chen (disambiguation)
• Chen Commandery
• The Hebrew surname חן is also spelled Chen.

• Tan Si Chong Su (陳氏宗祠), also known as Poh Chiak Keng (保赤宮), built around 1876 in Singapore
• Eng Chuan Tong Tan Kongsi (穎川堂陳公司), built around 1878 in Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia

• Chen, a character in Arknights
• Chen, a character in the British science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf
• Chen, a character in the bullet hell shoot 'em up video game series Touhou Project
• Chen, the Holy Knight, a character in the Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos custom map Defense of the Ancients
• The Chen family (Ollie, June, Esther, and Ruben), a group of characters who mainly appear in The Ghost and Molly McGee
• Alex Chen, a character in the video game series Life Is Strange
• Charlie Chan, a fictional detective
• Detective Grace Chen, a central character in Martial Law
• Chan Ho-nam, the fictitious Hong Kong triad boss in the Young and Dangerous film series
• Chen Jialuo, protagonist of the Wuxia novel The Book and the Sword
• Jing-Mei Chen, a Chinese-American physician in the television drama series ER
• Kai Chen, a character from Power Rangers Lost Galaxy.
• Lily Chen, a supporting Chinese-Welsh character from Fireman Sam
• Master Chen, a character in Ninjago
• Skylor Chen, a character in Ninjago
• Chen Stormstout, an important character in the World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, as well as playable hero in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne and Heroes of the Storm
• Chen Zhen, a fictional Chinese martial artist and culture hero
• Lucy Chen (character) from television series The Rookie, played by Melissa O'Neil