Zhu Zhi (156–224),

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...

Junli, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord

Sun Quan Sun Quan (, Chinese: 孫權) (183 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of the Eastern Wu dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime es ...

during the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

and early

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...

period of China. He was from Guzhang County (), Danyang Commandery (), which is present-day Anji County,

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

. Zhu Zhi served

Sun Jian Sun Jian () () (155–191?), courtesy name Wentai, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He allied himself with Yuan Shu in 190 when warlords from eastern China formed a ...

(Sun Quan's father) early on and participated in the

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

against

Dong Zhuo Dong Zhuo () (died 22 May 192), courtesy name Zhongying, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. At the end of the reign of the Eastern Han, Dong Zhuo was a general and powerful minist ...

. Sun Jian was succeeded by his eldest son,

Sun Ce Sun Ce () () (175–200), courtesy name Bofu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the eldest child of Sun Jian, who was killed during the Battle of Xiangyang w ...

, who became a vassal under another warlord

Yuan Shu Yuan Shu () (died July or August 199), courtesy name Gonglu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the Han central government in 189 ...

. After

became the ruler of the Jiangdong territories, Zhu Zhi was appointed as the Administrator of

Wu Commandery Wu Commandery was a commandery of imperial China. It covers parts of the contemporary Northern Zhejiang and Southern Jiangsu. The capital of Wu commandery was Wu (today's Suzhou). Major counties of Wu commandery include Wu (county), Yuhang county ...

, a position he would retain for his entire life. He adopted his maternal nephew

Zhu Ran Zhu Ran (182 – March or April 249), born Shi Ran, courtesy name Yifeng, was a Chinese military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Despite being a childhood friend of Wu's founding emperor, Sun Quan, h ...

as his son, as he had no heir. In 222, he was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Piling, and, in 223, was appointed General Who Pacifies the State (). He died in 224.

Life

Zhu Zhi served as a county clerk in his early career and was noted for his filial piety and modesty. He was soon made a prefecture official and followed

on his rise to power. In 188, he was promoted to the rank of Major () and led an army to attack rival armies in Changsha, Lingling and Guiyang commanderies (all in present-day

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

). Zhu Zhi was a skilled and successful tactician, and was promoted to the rank of Commandant () by Sun Jian because of his victories. He assisted in Sun Jian's defeat of

in the Battle of Yangren, and upon the army's entrance into

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

was promoted to the rank of Colonel (), with special command to lead a regiment of cavalry to

Xu Province Xuzhou as a historical toponym refers to varied area in different eras. Ordinarily, it was a reference to the one of the Nine Provinces which modern Xuzhou inherited. History Pre-Qin era Xuzhou or Xu Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ...

and reinforce its governor, Tao Qian, in the fight against the Yellow Turban rebels. Following Sun Jian's death in 191, Zhu Zhi continued to serve under Sun Jian's successor,

, who at the time was loyal to the northern warlord Yuan Shu. Upon learning that Yuan Shu was not a man of integrity or administrative ability, Zhu Zhi advised Sun Ce to return to their territory in Wu and operate independently. Around this time, the Grand Tutor

Ma Midi Ma Midi (died 194), courtesy name Wengshu, was an official who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Ma Midi was from Maoling County (茂陵縣), Youfufeng Commandery (右扶風郡), which is located northeast of present-day ...

gave Zhu Zhi bureaucrat status and promoted him to Administrator of

. Zhu Zhi displayed ability and talent in all his missions, including an instance of protecting Sun Ce's family members, and was widely lauded as Sun Ce conquered the entire lower Yangtze region. Sun Ce was assassinated by a servant of

Xu Gong Xu Gong () (died 200) was a Chinese politician and minor warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Xu Gong started his career sometime between 190 and 193 as the Commandant () of Wu Commandery (around present-day Su ...

in 200 for reasons that have long been debated. Zhu Zhi stayed in Wu and, along with the general

Zhou Yu Zhou Yu (, ) (175–210), courtesy name Gongjin (), was a Chinese military general and strategist serving under the warlord Sun Ce in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. After Sun Ce died in the year 200, he continued serving under Sun Quan, ...

, served Sun Ce's successor,

. In 202, Sun Quan appointed Zhu Zhi as the Administrator of Wu Commandery and promoted him to the rank of General Who Upholds Righteousness (). Sun Quan gave Zhu Zhi feudal land holdings in Gelou, Youzhang, Wuyi and Piling, allowed Zhu Zhi to enter semi-retirement. Zhu Zhi continued to serve the Wu government: He participated in attacks against the

Baiyue The Baiyue (, ), Hundred Yue, or simply Yue (; ), were various ethnic groups who inhabited the regions of East China, South China and Northern Vietnam during the 1st millennium BC and 1st millennium AD. They were known for their short hair, b ...

south and east of the

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...

-controlled territory of Wu, and 208 talked Sun Quan's cousin

Sun Ben Sun Ben ( 190s–200s), courtesy name Boyang, was a cousin of Sun Quan, a Chinese warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and later became the founding emperor of the state of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period. He was the el ...

out of sending his son as a hostage to Cao Cao in an attempt to improve diplomatic relations. Zhu Zhi was loved and respected by Sun Quan, who, after becoming King of Wu, would always greet Zhu in person when he visited the capital, bestowing gifts upon him and holding banquets in his honor. In 222, Zhu Zhi was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Piling (). Sun Quan bestowed kingly gifts on Zhu Zhi (such as a golden seal) and extended his marquisate to encompass four counties, but Zhu Zhi himself was unwilling to assume greater holdings or positions. He retired to his hometown in Guzhang County for several years and later died in 224. Zhu Zhi had five sons:

(adopted), Zhu Cai, Zhu Ji, Zhu Wei and Zhu Wansui.

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). '' Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi''). * * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). '' Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhu, Zhi 156 births 224 deaths Eastern Wu generals Eastern Wu politicians Generals under Sun Quan Han dynasty generals from Zhejiang Political office-holders in Jiangsu Politicians from Huzhou Sun Ce and associates Tao Qian and associates Yuan Shu and associates

Life

See also

References