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 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 18 August 1645, when he was enthroned in Fuzhou, to 6 October 1646, when he was captured and executed by a contingent of the Qing army. He was an eighth generation descendant of Zhu Jing, Prince Ding of Tang, who was the 23rd son of Ming founder

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 ...

(Hongwu Emperor)., note 24.

Early life

Before ascending to the throne, he followed his father as the Prince of Tang, 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 ...

being situated in

Nanyang Nanyang is the romanization of two common Chinese place names. It may refer to: Written as 南洋 (Southern Ocean) * Nanyang (region), a Chinese term denoting the Southeast Asian lands surrounding the South China Sea ;China * Nanyang Fleet, Qing ...

prefecture, in

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 1636, he was stripped of his title by the

Chongzhen Emperor The Chongzhen Emperor (; 6 February 1611 – 25 April 1644), personal name Zhu Youjian (), courtesy name Deyue (),Wang Yuan (王源)，''Ju ye tang wen ji'' (《居業堂文集》), vol. 19. "聞之張景蔚親見烈皇帝神主題御諱字德� ...

and put under house arrest in

Fengyang Fengyang County () is a county in north-central Anhui, Anhui Province, China. It is under the administration of Chuzhou, a prefecture-level city. The county was home to 765,600 people as of 2013. Administrative divisions Fengyang County is divide ...

. His former title was transferred to his younger brother

Zhu Yumo Zhu or ZHU may refer to: * Zhu (surname), common Chinese surnames *Zhu River, or Pearl River, in southern China *Zhu (state), ancient Chinese state, later renamed Zou *House of Zhu, the ruling house of the Ming dynasty in Chinese history *Zhu (str ...

(). In 1641, the latter committed suicide when

Li Zicheng Li Zicheng (22 September 1606 – 1645), born Li Hongji, also known by the nickname, Dashing King, was a Chinese peasant rebel leader who overthrew the Ming dynasty in 1644 and ruled over northern China briefly as the emperor of the short-li ...

invaded Nanyang. After the death of the Chongzhen Emperor 1644, his successor on the Ming throne, the

Hongguang Emperor The Hongguang Emperor (; 1607–1646), personal name Zhu Yousong (), childhood nickname Fuba (福八), was the first emperor of the Chinese Southern Ming dynasty. He reigned briefly in southern China from 1644 to 1645. His era name, ''Hongguang'' ...

, released the Prince of Tang from his arrest.

Reign

When Qing forces captured

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

in June 1645, he fled to

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whic ...

. However, when

fell to the Qing on 6 July 1645, the Prince of Tang managed to escape by land to the southeastern province of Fujian. In August of the same year, at the behest of several high officials, he ascended to the Ming throne in Fuzhou, taking the reign title Longwu (隆武; pinyin: Lóngwǔ). His

era name A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of ...

means "plentiful and martial". After a promising start,

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...

's geographical position on the margin of the empire, cut off from the heartland by several mountain ranges, as well as his lack of effective troops and the failure on part of the officialdom to find a united stance doomed the Longwu government. When Qing forces invaded Fujian in the late summer of 1646,

Zheng Zhilong Zheng Zhilong, Marquis of Tong'an and Nan'an (; April 16, 1604 – November 24, 1661), baptismal name Nicholas Iquan Gaspard, was a Chinese admiral, merchant, military general, pirate, and politician of the late Ming dynasty who later defec ...

, the emperor's strongest ally, surrendered while his son Zheng Chenggong (the famous

Koxinga Zheng Chenggong, Prince of Yanping (; 27 August 1624 – 23 June 1662), better known internationally as Koxinga (), was a Ming loyalist general who resisted the Qing conquest of China in the 17th century, fighting them on China's southeastern ...

) retreated to the sea. The Prince of Tang was left with a dwindling court. On 6 October 1646, he was captured and immediately executed.

Personality

Against the Ming policy of keeping imperial princes out of politics, the Prince of Tang early on showed interest in the government of the empire and strove for a larger role of the princes in it. His initiatives had brought him under house arrest during the reign of the

, but his knowledge of history and of Ming institutions, paired with a diligent personality, made him take his imperial role seriously.. Zhu Yujian is said to have had a very close relationship with his wife, who had shared his hardship when he was incarcerated. Contrary to Chinese custom, he steadfastly declined to take any

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

Family

Consorts and Issue: *

Empress Xiaoyixiang Empress Xiaoyixiang (; died 1646), of the Zeng clan, was a Chinese empress consort of the Southern Ming dynasty, empress to the Longwu Emperor Zhu Yujian (; 1602 – 6 October 1646), nickname Changshou (長壽), originally the Prince of T ...

, of the Zeng clan (孝毅襄皇后曾氏; d. 1646) ** Zhu Linyuan, Crown Prince Zhuangjing (莊敬太子朱琳源; 1646－1646), first son * Concubine, of the Shen clan (沈嫔) * Concubine, of the Chen clan (陳嬪)

Ancestry

Zhu Yujian was the senior-most male-line descendants of Zhu Jing, Prince Ding of Tang, the 23rd son of

, after his father's death. Therefore, he was an eighth cousin of the

Wanli Emperor The Wanli Emperor (; 4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), personal name Zhu Yijun (), was the 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1572 to 1620. "Wanli", the era name of his reign, literally means "ten thousand calendars". He was th ...

. This chart only showed the latest actual title of the person(s). #

, the Hongwu Emperor, 1328–1398 # Zhu Jing, Prince Ding of Tang, 1386–1415 (23rd son) # Zhu Qiongda, Prince Xian of Tang, 1412–1475 (4th son & 2nd son as son by primary consort) # Zhu Zhizhi, Prince Zhuang of Tang, 1432–1485 (2nd son) # Zhu Miqian, Comm. Prince Gongjing of Wencheng, d.1516 (3rd son) # Zhu Yuwen, Prince Jing of Tang, 1490–1560 # Zhu Zhouyong, Prince Shun of Tang, 1538–1564 # Zhu Shuohuang, Prince Duan of Tang, d.1630 # Zhu Qisheng, the Hereditary Prince of Tang, d.1629 (1st son) # Zhu Yujian, the Longwu Emperor, 1602–1646 (1st son)

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhu, Yujian Southern Ming emperors 1602 births 1646 deaths Executed Ming dynasty people Executed people from Henan People executed by the Qing dynasty People from Nanyang, Henan 17th-century Chinese monarchs 17th-century executions by China Executed monarchs