Emperor Wen of Chen

Emperor Wen of Chen (陳文帝), personal name Chen Qian (陳蒨), also called Chen Tanqian (陳曇蒨), courtesy name Zihua (子華), was the second emperor of the Chinese Chen dynasty. He was a nephew of the founding monarch, Emperor Wu, and after Emperor Wu's death in 559, the officials supported him to be emperor since Emperor Wu's only surviving son, Chen Chang, was detained by the Northern Zhou dynasty. At the time he took the throne, Chen had been devastated by war during the preceding Liang dynasty, and many provinces nominally loyal to him were under control of relatively independent warlords. During his reign, he consolidated the state against warlords, and he also seized territory belonging to claimants to the Liang throne, Xiao Zhuang and the Emperor Xuan of Western Liang, greatly expanding Chen's territory and strength.