Death
For reasons unknown, only after hearing Emperor Wu's death did Northern Zhou send Chen Chang on his way to Chen territory. However, because the Liang general Wang Lin, who had by that point supported the Liang prince Xiao Zhuang as emperor, controlled the parts of Yangtze River that Chen Chang was required to travel on to reach Jiankang, Chen Chang was unable to proceed much on his journey, and he had to stop at Anlu (安陸, in modern Xiaogan, Hubei).
In spring 560, Emperor Wen's forces, under the general Hou Tian (侯瑱), defeated Wang Lin's, and both Wang and Xiao Zhuang fled to Northern Qi. The territory that Wang formerly controlled were divided between Chen and Northern Zhou, and Chen Chang's road was clear. As Chen Chang proceeded from Anlu to the Yangtze River, he wrote impolite letters to Emperor Wen, which Emperor Wen took as a demand for the throne. Emperor Wen summoned his general Hou Andu, suggesting that perhaps he should yield the throne to Chen Chang and accept a princely title. Hou advised him not to, and offered to personally "greet" Chen Chang. Meanwhile, the officials were all suggesting creating Chen Chang an imperial prince, and Emperor Wen declared that Chen Chang was to be created the Prince of Hengyang.
A month later, Chen Chang entered Chen territory and met Hou. However, as they travelled on the Yangtze River, Hou had him killed and his body thrown into the Yangtze, and then returned to Jiankang, claiming that Chen Chang had slipped into the river. As Chen Chang was sonless, Emperor Wen had his own son Chen Boxin (陳伯信) adopted into Chen Chang's line to inherit the title of Prince of Hengyang.
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Chen, Chang |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 537 |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | 560 |
| Place of death | |
Read more about this topic: Chen Chang
Famous quotes containing the word death:
“There is something antique, even, in his style of treating his subject, reminding us that Heroes and Demi-gods, Fates and Furies, still exist; the common man is nothing to him, but after death the hero is apotheosized and has a place in heaven, as in the religion of the Greeks.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Men are fools that wish to die!
Is ‘t not fine to dance and sing
When the bells of death do ring?”
—Unknown. Hey Nonny No! (L. 2–4)
“I was now at a university in New York, a professor of existential psychology with the not inconsiderable thesis that magic, dread, and the perception of death were the roots of motivation.”
—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)