Chen Baxian

Also known as Zi Xingguo

Chen Baxian, courtesy name Xingguo, came of humble stock at Changcheng in Wuxing and rose from village official and storehouse clerk to serve Xiao Ying in Guangzhou. He helped crush Li Ben's rising in Jiaozhou and won commands on the West River. When Hou Jing's rebellion broke out he raised troops at Shixing and marched north, joining Wang Sengbian to retake Jiankang in 552. In 555, when Wang accepted Northern Qi's candidate Xiao Yuanming as emperor, Chen struck from Jingkou, killed Wang and set up Xiao Fangzhi instead, and the next year he routed a Northern Qi army before Jiankang. In the tenth month of 557 he received the abdication of Liang, naming his dynasty Chen and his reign Yongding; he died in 559 aged fifty-seven, with the temple name Gaozu, and was buried at Wan'an. Because his son Chen Chang was held in Northern Zhou, his nephew Chen Qian succeeded him. The first two chapters of Yao Silian's History of the Chen (Chenshu) are his annals.