Emperor Wu of Liang
Chen Baxian was born to Chen Wenzan (陳文讚) and Lady Dong in 503 CE, the second year of the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang (the founding emperor of Liang Dynasty). He was from Wuxing Commandery (吳興, roughly modern Huzhou, Zhejiang). His family traced its ancestry to Chen Shi (陳寔), a county magistrate and Confucian scholar during Han Dynasty. During the lineage that was traced, Chen's ancestors generally served as officials, although several were important figures in imperial governments of Jin Dynasty and the subsequent Southern dynasties, including Chen Baxian's grandfather Chen Daoju (陳道巨).