Zhu Yuyue

Prince of Tang (Shaowu)
Emperor of the Southern Ming Dynasty
Reign December 1646 – January 1647
Reason for succession failure: Ming Dynasty replaced by Qing Dynasty in 1645
Predecessor Longwu Emperor
Successor Yongli Emperor
Emperor of China
Reign December 1646 – January 1647
Reason for succession failure: Qing Dynasty asserted effective control over China in 1645
Predecessor Longwu Emperor
Successor Yongli Emperor
Born ?
Died 1647
Full name
Family name: Zhu (朱)
Given name: Yuyue (聿𨮁[1])
Era name and dates
Shaowu (紹武): December 1646 – January 1647
Posthumous name
贞天应道昭崇德毅宁文宏武达仁闵孝节皇帝
Temple name
Ming Wenzong
明文宗
House Southern Ming Dynasty
Father Zhu Qisheng
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Zhu.

Zhu Yuyue (Chinese: 朱聿𨮁; pinyin: Zhū Yùyuè;[1] died 1647), the Prince of Tang (唐王) reigned as the Shaowu Emperor (紹武) of the Southern Ming dynasty from 1646-1647.

Life

He was a descendant of the first Ming emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. Before ascending to the throne he followed his father as the Prince of Tang and elder brother, the future Longwu Emperor, their fief being situated in Nanyang prefecture, in Henan 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. 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: Shàowǔ), just a few days before the Prince of Gui 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.

References

  1. 1 2 The rare character 𨮁 cannot be seen with many browsers' fonts. It looks like the combination [金粵] (see U+028B81 in Unihan database) and is pronounced "yuè" according to dictionaries such as zdic.net. Many online sources substitute for the rare character 𨮁 the more common character 鐭, which has a different element on the right. The name is transcribed as Zhu Yuyue e.g. in Frederic E Wakeman, Jr., 'The Great Enterprise'.
Zhu Yuyue
Died: 1647
Titles in pretence
Preceded by
The Longwu Emperor
 TITULAR 
Emperor of the Southern Ming Dynasty
1646–1647
Reason for succession failure:
Ming Dynasty replaced by Qing Dynasty in 1645
Succeeded by
The Yongli Emperor
 TITULAR 
Emperor of China
1646–1647
Reason for succession failure:
Qing Dynasty asserted effective control over China in 1645
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