Zhu Shizhen

Zhu Wusi was born in 1281^[e][4] at Zhujiaxiang, Tongde Township, Jurong County, Jiangsu, China. His father, Zhu Chuyi, was registered as a "gold-washing household" (taojin hu) under the Yuan dynasty, which required him to deliver a fixed amount of gold annually to the authorities. As there were no gold mines in Jurong, Zhu Chuyi was forced to sell agricultural products for cash and then purchase gold to meet the quota—an arduous and costly burden. Unable to withstand the continued pressure from officials, in 1289, when Zhu Wusi was eight years old, Zhu Chuyi moved the family to Sunjiagang, located thirteen li north of Si Prefecture (in modern Xuyi County, Huai'an, Jiangsu).^[5]

Zhu Wusi married a woman of the Chen family,^[f][7] who bore him a son, Zhu Chongsi, and a daughter while they resided in Xuyi.^[8] After the death of his father, the family sank into poverty. For the sake of survival, Zhu Wusi and his elder brother Zhu Wuyi were compelled to abandon their ancestral home and seek livelihoods elsewhere. Zhu Wuyi settled with his household in East Township, Zhongli County, Hao Prefecture (present-day Zhaofu Village north of Mingguang, Anhui). Zhu Wusi, meanwhile, moved his family to Lingbi County, Anhui, where his second son, Zhu Chongliu, was born. They later relocated to Hong County (modern Si County, Anhui), where his third son, Zhu Chongqi, was born,^[g] and eventually made their home in East Township, Zhongli County.^[10] On 21 October 1328, Lady Chen gave birth to her and Zhu Wusi's fourth son, Zhu Chongba, the future Hongwu Emperor.^[11]

In 1337,^[h] pressed by hardship, the family again moved, this time to West Township of Zhongli (near present-day Tangfu Village, Fengyang). The following year, they relocated to Gucun Village in Taiping Township of Zhongli (modern Ershiying Village, Fengyang County). There, they became tenant farmers under the landlord Liu Jide (劉繼德), a man known for his harshness. Despite their toil, the Zhu household remained in dire straits. In 1344, the Huai River basin suffered a catastrophic drought: seedlings withered, fields cracked, and famine was soon followed by locust swarms and plague. On the sixth day of the fourth month that year,^[i] Zhu Wusi, unable to afford medical treatment, succumbed to the plague aged 64. His eldest son perished later that same night. On the twenty-second day of the same month,^[j] the 59-year-old Lady Chen also died of the illness.^[15] Zhu Chongliu and Zhu Chongba implored their landlord Liu Jide for a small burial plot to inter their parents, but he reviled them and refused. At length, Liu's elder brother, Liu Jizu (劉繼祖), took pity and granted them a patch of land.^[k] Lacking the means for coffins, Zhu Chongba wrapped the bodies of his parents in old quilts and buried them hastily.^[17]

In 1352, Zhu Chongba joined the Red Turban rebels under the command of Guo Zixing,^[18] at which time he adopted the name Zhu Yuanzhang. He also posthumously changed his father's name from Zhu Wusi to Zhu Shizhen.^[19] After Guo died, command of his army passed to Zhu Yuanzhang,^[18] who gradually rose to become a prominent leader of the Red Turban Rebellion.^[20] In 1366, believing that his father's burial rites had been too modest, yet fearing that reburial might disturb the geomantic currents of the land, Zhu Yuanzhang resolved instead to enlarge the burial mound so that it might conform to the standards of an imperial mausoleum.^[21]

In 1363, Han Lin'er, the nominal sovereign of the Red Turbans, posthumously bestowed a series of exalted titles upon Zhu Shizhen, including Duke of Wu,^[l] and honored Lady Chen as duchess.^[22] After founding the Ming dynasty and becoming the Hongwu Emperor in 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang posthumously honored his father as Emperor Chun (淳皇帝; 'Pure Emperor') with the temple name Renzu (仁祖; 'Benevolent Ancestor'),^[23] while Lady Chen was honored as Empress Chun (淳皇后). Zhu Shizhen's resting place was renamed the Mausoleum of Emperor Renzu. In 1369, the tomb was redesignated the Ying Mausoleum (英陵) and, later that year, renamed the Imperial Mausoleum (皇陵). The Imperial Mausoleum Guard was also established to protect it.^[24] The Emperor first ordered the construction of Zhu Shizhen's mausoleum in 1369 and renewed the project in 1375.^[25] The mausoleum was completed in 1379.^[26]