Chen Youliang

In 1357, Chen proclaimed himself "King of Han" in Jiangzhou (江州; present-day Jiujiang, Jiangxi), and emperor after Xu Shouhui died.

Chen Youliang appointed Zou Pusheng (邹普胜) as Grand Preceptor and Zhang Bixian (张必先) as prime minister (丞相).

His power was at least as great as that of another rebel state, Wu, led by Zhu Yuanzhang, founder of the Ming dynasty.

During the resulting ship battles Chen was killed (he was alleged to have died from an arrow wound in the head).

Vietnamese historical annals such as Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư recorded that Chen Youliang sent a diplomatic delegate to Đại Việt to ask for alliance, claiming that he had biological relationship with Trần dynasty (Trần is the Vietnamese pronunciation of Chen 陳).

It is suspected that Chen Youliang pretended to be a Vietnamese royal family to earn support from Đại Việt.

His clothes were taken back by his subordinates in a boat and sent to the south slope of Sheshan, approaching the Wuchang Bridge Head (武昌桥头) of Yangtze River Bridge in Wuhan City, Hubei Province (next to the Yellow Crane Tower, a famous scenic spot in Wuhan, Hubei Province) for burial.

In the Qing dynasty, this place became a part of the garden "Naiyuan" (乃园) of Hubei Provincial Bureau of Supervision, and few people visited it.

In 1908, Wan Yaohuang and Geng Zhongzhao discovered this tomb in the thirty-fourth year of Guangxu in Qing dynasty.

On the forehead of the memorial archway, "Jiang Han Xian Ying" ("江汉先英”), and on the back, "San Chu Xiongfeng" (“三楚雄风"), a monument was erected in front of the tomb, "Da Han Chen Youliang Tomb", and Rao Hanxiang of Guangji made an inscription.

[13][14] Yuan Mei's "Zi Bu Yu" (袁枚《子不語》), Volume 10, contains an article "Destroying Chen Youliang Temple", which tells the story of the ruined Jingzhou Chen Youliang Temple when Zhao Xili (赵锡礼) was appointed as a county magistrate.

[15][16] Chen Youliang features as a character in the wuxia novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber by Louis Cha.