Zhu Shouqian

Zhu Shouqian was born Zhu Tiezhu (朱鐵柱). Zhu Shouqian's father, Zhu Wenzheng (朱文正), was stripped of his rank and imprisoned on charges of conspiring against Zhu Yuanzhang when Zhu Shouqian was only 4 years old; however, Zhu Yuanzhang personally reassured him, saying: "You have nothing to fear. Your father was unruly and gave me trouble, but I will not punish you for his misdeeds."

His name was changed to "Wei" (煒) when Zhu Yuanzhang claimed the title "King of Wu". In 1370, the third year of the Hongwu reign, he was then renamed Shouqian and enfeoffed as the Prince of Jingjiang — the only feudal prince who was not a child of Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Shouqian was awarded the status of a prince under the title "Prince of Jingjiang" by the Hongwu Emperor when he was 9 years old. He took his fief, Jingjiang (present-day Guilin), in 1376. His salary was the same as that of a second rank commandery prince, but his rank was half that of a first rank prince.

Jingjiang has Toghon Temür's potential residence, which was changed to a palace, and Shouqian expressed his gratitude. The Hongwu Emperor said to the ministers who followed: "Zhu Shouqian is young and guards the southwest, and he must be well counseled."

Zhu Shouqian was an educated person, but he often allied with villains and made the locals dissatisfied with him. The Hongwu Emperor summoned him in 1370 to reprimand him. After that, Zhu wrote a poem with some complaints and made the emperor angry. As a result, the emperor demoted him to a commoner.

He was imprisoned in Fengyang for seven years until the Hongwu Emperor restored his title. The emperor ordered him to go defend Yunnan with his brother-in-law, Xu Pu (徐溥). The emperor granted him an encyclical book, but Zhu still acted violently. Later, the emperor summoned him to Fengyang where Zhu stole horses; he was caught and imprisoned again.

Zhu Shouqian died in January 1392. His burial place is located on Purple Mountain. His son, Zhu Zanyi, was young and was named the Hereditary Prince (世子).