CHU Y-CHIEN

born May 25, 1602, Nan-yang, Honan Province, China died 1646, China Pinyin Zhu Yujian, also called Prince of T'ang, reign title (Wade-Giles romanization) Lung-wu ruler of Fukien Province in southern China after the Manchu forces of Manchuria captured the Ming capital at Peking and established the Ch'ing dynasty (1644-1911/12). He was also a claimant to the Ming throne. A Ming prince, Chu was a direct descendant of the first Ming dynasty emperor, Hung-wu (reigned 1368-98). Upon the fall of the Ming capital, Peking, to the Manchu armies, Chu obtained the support of the pirate leader and freebooter Cheng Chih-lung and in August 1645 proclaimed himself Ming emperor with the reign title of Lung-wu. He reigned for about 13 months, holding court in Fukien Province. When the Ch'ing armies began to advance into southern China, Cheng Chih-lung withdrew his protection of Chu, who was then captured and executed.