Zhu Xie Zi Xiang, a native of Yuyao in the Ming Dynasty, was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) during the Jiajing period (AD 1522 - 1566). He successively served as a principal clerk in the Ministry of War and the deputy prefect of Shaowu, and both positions saw him bring benevolent governance. He once guarded the Shanhaiguan Pass, showing loyalty to the country. He was proficient in Neo - Confucianism and got rid of the trite ideas. Zhu Yuju A farmer in the State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period. When King Zhuang of Chu built a high platform and piled up a thousand - layer earthwork, 72 ministers who remonstrated with him died. Yuju abandoned farming and went to remonstrate with the king, and the king then dismantled the platform and stopped the corvée for the people. The people of Chu sang a song about him: "Firewood, oh, grass, oh! Without Zhu Yuju, there would be no one! Grass, oh, firewood, oh! Without Zhu Yuju, there would be no one!" Here, the compound surname Zhuyu is incorporated into the single - character surname Zhu. Zhu Jiying A high - ranking official of the State of Yue during the Spring and Autumn Period. When King Fuchai of Wu attacked Yue, King Goujian of Yue sent Zhu Jiying to make peace with Wu, which allowed Yue to catch a breath. Eventually, Wu was conquered by Yue. Here, the compound surname Zhuji is incorporated into the single - character surname Zhu.

### Migration and Distribution (Information not available) The Zhu surname is not ranked among the top 100 surnames in the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. The Zhu surname has the same origin as the Zhu (竹) surname. It is said that during the time of King Tang of the Shang Dynasty, Yu enfeoffed Mo Taishi, a descendant of Emperor Yan, in the Guzhu State (south of present-day Lulong County, Hebei Province). Some descendants of the Guzhu State's rulers took one character of the state name as their surname, becoming the Zhu (竹) clan. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhu Yan, the Marquis of Zongyang, believed that the origin of the Zhu (竹) surname came from two sages of the Guzhu State, namely Boyi and Shuqi (two sages in the late Shang and early Zhou dynasties who starved to death on Shouyang Mountain because they refused to eat the food of the immoral officials). So he added the character "二" under the character "竹", thus forming the surname "Zhu". In addition, in ancient times, India was called Tianzhu State. When some Buddhist monks came to China to spread Buddhism, in order to adapt to Han - Chinese cultural customs, they took a single character as their surname. Since they were called Tianzhu monks, they mostly adopted the surname Zhu. Later, some of these monks settled in China, and some Han - Chinese Buddhist monks also adopted the surname Zhu after taking these monks as their teachers. In this way, the Zhu surname spread among the Han people. There is also another case. Because Zhu and Zhu (竹) are homophones, a man named Zhu Yan in the Han Dynasty changed his surname to Zhu, and his descendants followed suit, as verified by *The Western Regions in the Han Dynasty* in *History of the Han Dynasty*. However, according to another ancient Chinese surname book *Xing Yuan*: "The Zhu surname originally was Zhu (竹), and it was not until Zhu Yan of Zongyang in the Han Dynasty that it was changed to Zhu." According to the verification in *Xing Yuan*, regarding the origin of the Zhu (竹) surname in China, according to *The Biographies of Famous Clans*, "The Lord of Guzhu was of the Jiang surname. King Tang of the Yin Dynasty enfeoffed him in western Liaoning, Lingzhi. From Boyi and Shuqi onwards, their descendants took Zhu as their surname, in Dongguan." The prominent family was from the Donghai Commandery (southeast of present-day Yanzhou, Shandong Province).

### Zhu Hai A person. The exact years of his birth and death are unknown. He was a native of the State of Wei during the Warring States period and worked as a butcher. At that time, the State of Qin besieged Handan in the State of Zhao. The State of Wei sent General Jin Bi to lead an army to rescue Zhao, but due to fear of the Qin troops, Jin Bi stationed his army in Ye and hesitated. The Duke of Xinling (Lord Wei Wuji) got a plan from Hou Ying to steal the military amulet, and Hou Ying recommended Zhu Hai to go with him. When they arrived at the Wei camp, Jin Bi suspected that Lord Xinling had ulterior motives. Then Zhu Hai took out an iron mace from his sleeve and killed Jin Bi, seized the military power, defeated the Qin army, and thus lifted the siege of Handan. ### Zhu Shixing The exact years of his birth and death are unknown. He was from Yingchuan (now Yuxian County, Henan Province) in the Kingdom of Wei during the Three - Kingdoms period. As he felt that the translated Prajna scriptures at that time were difficult to understand due to their awkward sentences, he decided to travel westward to seek the Dharma. He was the earliest Chinese monk to travel westward for religious learning. ### Zhu Quanzhong ### Zhu Xi (1130 - 1200) His courtesy name was Yuanhui at first, and then changed to Zhonghui. His late - life sobriquets included Huiweng, and he was also known as Huian and Ziyang. He was from Wuyuan in the Song Dynasty and lived as an exile in Jianzhou. He once gave lectures at Kaoting in Jianyang, so he was also called Kaoting. In his later years, he built a thatched cottage on Yungu Mountain and was also known as the Old Man of Yungu. He successively held the position of the Attendant in the Baowen Pavilion. After his death, he was posthumously titled Wen. Later generations respected him as Master Zhu or Duke Wen of Zhu. In the Baoqing era, he was posthumously promoted to Grand Tutor and posthumously conferred the titles of Duke of Xin and Duke of Hui. His learning mainly focused on self - discipline and the pursuit of truth, and he integrated the essence of Neo - Confucianism in the Song Dynasty. He compiled and wrote many books, and his annotations on the Four Books were regarded as the standard in the imperial examinations of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. ### Zhu Yuanzhang

Zhu Yunming (1460–1526), styled Xizhe, and also known as Zhishan and Zhizhisheng, was a native of Changzhou, Jiangsu in the Ming Dynasty. His poems and essays had an extraordinary charm, and he was especially skilled in calligraphy. He once held the position of Tongpan of Yingtian. He was known as one of the "Four Talents of Wu" together with Tang Yin, Xu Zhenqing, and Wen Zhengming. He was the author of works such as Huai Xing Tang Ji (Collection of Huai Xing Hall) and Xingning County Gazetteer.