Zhu Yuyue (; 1605 – 20 January 1647), the Prince of Tang (), reigned as the Shaowu Emperor () of the
Southern Ming
The Southern Ming (), also known as the Later Ming (), officially the Great Ming (), was an imperial dynasty of China and a series of rump states of the Ming dynasty that came into existence following the Jiashen Incident of 1644. Shun force ...
from 1646 to 1647.
Biography
He was a descendant of the first
Ming
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...
emperor
Zhu Yuanzhang
The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398.
As famine, plagues and peasant revolts i ...
. Before ascending to the throne he followed his father as the Prince of Tang and elder brother, the future
Longwu Emperor
Zhu Yujian (; 1602 – 6 October 1646), nickname Changshou (長壽), originally the Prince of Tang, later reigned as the Longwu Emperor () of the Southern Ming from 18 August 1645, when he was enthroned in Fuzhou, to 6 October 1646, when he wa ...
, their
fief
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
province. In 1646 he succeeded the title of Prince of Tang after the accession of the Longwu Emperor.
When Qing forces captured Fuzhou in early October 1646 and killed the Longwu Emperor, he fled to
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
. That December, at the behest of several high officials, he ascended to the Ming throne in Guangzhou, taking the reign title ''Shaowu'' (紹武;
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally writte ...
: Shàowǔ), just a few days before the
Prince of Gui
Prince of Gui ( zh, 桂王), was a first-rank princely peerage used during Ming dynasty, this peerage title was created by Wanli Emperor. The first Prince of Gui was Zhu Changying, 7th son of Wanli Emperor. This peerage had 6 cadet commandery pri ...
became the Yongli Emperor.
Both regimes claimed to be the legitimate successor of the Ming dynasty, and war broke out shortly afterwards. Initially, forces of the Shaowu regime enjoyed victory over the Yongli forces. This ultimately led to the overconfidence of the Shaowu Emperor. Corruption and lack of defense doomed the government. Just 40 days after the establishment of the Shaowu regime, Qing forces successfully invaded Guangzhou. The Shaowu Emperor was captured in January 1647 and immediately committed suicide.
The remains of the Shaowu Emperor and his officials are buried in Yuexiu Park, Guangzhou.