Zhu Yuyue, Prince of Tang

Who was Zhu Yuyue, Prince of Tang?

Zhu Yuyue, the Prince of Tang reigned as the Shaowu emperor of the Southern Ming dynasty from 1646-1647.

His era name means "martial thread". 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 1646 and killed the Longwu Emperor, he fled to Guangzhou. In December of the same year at the behest of several high officials he ascended to the Ming throne in Guangzhou, taking the reign title Shaowu, 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.