Zhu Yuanzhang was the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and he was brave and fearless in his life, and his merits were outstanding. However, his fifth son, Zhu Hu, is a puzzling figure. As a son-in-law, Zhu Hu has been highly anticipated and valued by Zhu Yuanzhang since he was a child, and was named the king of Zhou, with heavy troops to control Kaifeng. But at this moment, Zhu Hu suddenly behaved abnormally and made a series of absurd deeds, which made Zhu Yuanzhang very angry. What is the reason why this son, whom Zhu Yuanzhang values most, suddenly behaves so abnormally? What is even more puzzling is that although he is despised in the court, Zhu Hu has made great contributions to the world. What earth-shattering things did this prince, who was deeply feared by both Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di, do? Let us find out.
Zhu Hu is valued by Zhu Yuanzhang and has a bright future
Zhu Hu has shown extraordinary talent since he was a child, he is not only knowledgeable, but also outstanding in martial arts. Zhu Yuanzhang had high hopes for this eldest son, and regarded him as the future pillar of the Ming Dynasty. In the third year of Hongwu, Zhu Hu was only nine years old, and Zhu Yuanzhang had already named him the king of Wu and guarded Hangzhou. Although he is still young, Zhu Yuanzhang's expectations for him can be seen.
In the eleventh year of Hongwu, Zhu Hu was more than 20 years old, which was already a good age. At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang originally wanted Zhu Hu to continue to guard Hangzhou, but some ministers were sparse, believing that Hangzhou was an important place of national wealth, and if it was controlled by the vassal king, it would definitely cause heavy losses. Although Zhu Yuanzhang was reluctant, he had to change Zhu Hu's title to King Zhou and guard Kaifeng.
For Zhu Yuanzhang, Kaifeng's status is not trivial. Although he set the capital at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, he always had the intention of moving the capital to Kaifeng. The placement of Zhu Hu here is precisely to place high hopes on it. In order to further consolidate Zhu Hu's power in Kaifeng, Zhu Yuanzhang married Feng Sheng and married his daughter to Zhu Hu, and Chang Yuchun, one of the six princes of the founding of the country, also formed an in-law relationship.
In this way, Zhu Hu became one of the most powerful vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty. He not only has three heavy guards under his command, but even the number of troops is as high as tens of thousands. It can be said that Zhu Yuanzhang gave Zhu Hu the best resources, hoping that he could show his ambitions in Kaifeng.
When Zhu Hu first arrived in Kaifeng, his performance was really good. He followed the rules, was diligent and responsible, and won Zhu Yuanzhang's favor. Whenever Zhu Yuanzhang has an order, he goes all out and doesn't neglect it. For example, in the eighteenth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang heard that there was a vision, so he asked Zhu Hu to strengthen his precautions, and Zhu Hu obeyed it.
In this way, Zhu Hu was the king of Zhou in Kaifeng for eight years. During this period, he performed steadily and made no mistakes, which made Zhu Yuanzhang pay more attention to him. But at this moment, Zhu Hu's behavior suddenly changed, and he did a series of ridiculous things, which made Zhu Yuanzhang very angry.
Zhu Huan's behavior was abnormal and he was exiled by Zhu Yuanzhang
In the twenty-second year of Hongwu, Zhu Hu suddenly made a series of incomprehensible actions that completely changed his fate. In August of that year, Zhu Hu left the fiefdom of Kaifeng without authorization and went to Fengyang with his wife and concubine. Fengyang is Zhu Yuanzhang's hometown, which has a very high status in the Ming Dynasty and is respected as the "middle capital". The reason why Zhu Hu went to Fengyang may be just out of a kind of nostalgia and nostalgia.
However, this act of Zhu Hu has already violated the ban of the Ming Dynasty. According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, the vassal king was not allowed to leave the fief without authorization, and he had to ask for it first. Zhu Hu's private action is undoubtedly a blatant provocation to Zhu Yuanzhang's authority. What's more serious is that Zhu Hu also met with his father-in-law Feng Sheng during his stay in Fengyang.
Feng Sheng is one of the six founding princes of the People's Republic of China, holding heavy troops, and has always been feared by Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Hu, as Feng Sheng's son-in-law, met with him in private, and Zhu Yuanzhang naturally became suspicious and suspected that the two were colluding and rebelling. Sure enough, someone soon informed Zhu Yuanzhang of the incident, and Zhu Yuanzhang was furious and immediately exiled Zhu Hu to Yunnan.
The reason why Zhu Yuanzhang punished Zhu Hu so harshly was mainly out of fear of the collusion between the vassal king and the important ministers. The emperors of all dynasties have taken precautions against this, and Zhu Yuanzhang is naturally no exception. Moreover, Zhu Hu and Feng Sheng are not only in-laws, but the relationship between the two is even closer, so Zhu Yuanzhang will naturally be suspicious.
So, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Zhu Hu to be exiled to Yunnan and handed over to Hou Muying of Pingxi to take care of. Zhu Hu's eldest son, Zhu Youzhuang, was ordered to take charge of the affairs of the palace. Zhu Yuanzhang's treatment of Zhu Hu was so severe, which shows how much he attaches importance to this matter.
After Zhu Hu was exiled to Yunnan, he did not give in. On the contrary, he saw the suffering of the local people in Yunnan, which greatly touched his soul and laid the groundwork for his future career in medicine. As a southwestern border, Yunnan has been a barren land since ancient times, and the local residents live a difficult life and lack of treatment for diseases. Zhu Hu witnessed all this and had the heart to save the world.
After nearly two years of exile in Yunnan, Zhu was allowed to return to Beijing. Zhu Yuanzhang gave him several months of ideological education, and then let him return to Kaifeng. However, as soon as Zhu Hu returned to Kaifeng, he once again did a series of absurd things and completely lost Zhu Yuanzhang's trust.
According to historical records, Zhu Hu once shot a lieutenant of the palace, allowed his guards to smuggle goods, and also seized a woman who was already married to him. It can be said that Zhu Huan's behavior has completely deviated from the ethics that a prince should have, which made Zhu Yuanzhang very angry.
However, a closer look at the root cause of Zhu Hu's abnormal behavior found that he was just silently pursuing a lofty ideal. The reason why Zhu Hu suddenly became an absurd prince was actually because he was obsessed with medical research and hoped to use his own strength to save the common people.
Zhu Hu is obsessed with medical research and creates immortal achievements
Although Zhu Hu was despised in the court, he made great contributions to the world in his life. All of this stems from his persistent pursuit of medical research.
In the twenty-eighth year of Hongwu, after Zhu Hu was exiled to Yunnan, he witnessed the suffering of the local people. As a border land, Yunnan has a poor living environment, backward medical conditions, and a lack of treatment for diseases, which makes Zhu Hu feel sad. After spending more than two years in exile in Yunnan, Zhu was allowed to return to Kaifeng.
As soon as he returned to Kaifeng, Zhu Hu devoted himself to medical research. He summoned famous doctors such as Liu Yu, Teng Shuo, Li Heng, and Qu You, and hired painters, craftsmen and other technicians to begin the study of Chinese herbal medicine. In order to cultivate high-quality herbs, Zhu Hu spent a lot of money to build a botanical garden, which planted various precious medicinal materials. He personally worked in the fields, tried various recipes, and knew the curative effects of Chinese herbal medicine well.
Zhu Hu's behavior made Zhu Yuanzhang very angry, and he sent people to reprimand him many times, but Zhu Hu ignored it and devoted himself to research. On the eve of Zhu Yuanzhang's death, Zhu Hu had already written works such as "Baosheng Yulu", "Pocket Fang", and "Puji Fang", which laid the foundation for the development of medicine in later generations.
After Zhu Yuanzhang's death, Zhu Yunwen succeeded to the throne, fearing that Zhu Hu's strength was too great, so he cut his feudal domain and exiled him to Yunnan. Zhu Hu did not give up, but took the opportunity to search around for new varieties of Chinese herbal medicine. In the fourth year of Jianwen, after Zhu Di invaded Nanjing, he took back Zhu Hu as soon as possible and restored his prince.
In the second year of Yongle, Zhu Di summoned Zhu Hu and wanted to change his fief to Luoyang. Zhu Yan declined, on the grounds that he was studying medicine, and the botanical garden in Kaifeng was not easy to relocate. Seeing this, Zhu Di not only did not force him, but rewarded Zhu Hu with a large amount of money and property to support his research.
In the fourth year of Yongle, Zhu Hu's masterpiece "Saving the Famine Materia Medica" came out. Unlike other medical works, this magnum opus fills a scientific gap by detailing the cultivation methods, uses, and methods of eliminating the toxicity of various Chinese herbs.
The publication of "Materia Medica" marked the peak of Zhu Hu's medical research. Although this work did not attract much attention at the time, it was praised by later generations as unparalleled. In his magnum opus "Compendium of Materia Medica", the Ming Dynasty physician Li Shizhen quoted a large number of contents of "Materia Medica", which shows its value.
By the Qing Dynasty, the influence of "Materia Medica" spread throughout Asia, the Americas and Europe. The Russian physician Baylor identified more than 100 of these plant species and believed that its achievements were at least 70 years earlier than those of the West. The American scientist Schwengao described it as "the most outstanding herbal book of the Middle Ages".
British scholar Joseph Needham said bluntly: "The work of Zhu Huan and others is a great contribution of the Chinese in humanitarianism, and Zhu Huan is both a great pioneer and a great humanitarian." ＂
From Zhu Hu, who was regarded as an absurd prince in the Ming Dynasty, to being praised as a "scientific giant" and "humanitarian" in later generations, Zhu Hu used his life to interpret the power of persistent pursuit. His achievements in medical research have not only saved countless lives, but also made outstanding contributions to the development of science in the world.
Zhu Hu left an independent legacy, and his medical works have been passed down for generations
In his later years, Zhu Hu lived in seclusion in the countryside, devoted himself to writing, and no longer paid attention to the government and politics. Although his life was despised in the court, his contributions to medicine are immortalized.
In the tenth year of Yongle, Zhu Di decreed that Zhu Hu's fief would be changed to Luoyang. However, Zhu Hu politely declined, on the grounds that he was concentrating on the study of medicine, and the botanical garden in Kaifeng was not easy to relocate. Seeing this, Zhu Di not only did not force it, but rewarded Zhu Di with a large amount of money and property to support his research.
In the sixteenth year of Yongle, Zhu Hu's masterpiece "Materia Medica" came out. Divided into 12 volumes, this monumental work records the cultivation methods, uses and methods of detoxification of hundreds of plant species, and can be regarded as the foundation work of oriental botany.
After the publication of the book "Materia Medica", it did not attract much attention. However, over time, the value of this magnum opus has gradually come to be recognized. In his book "Compendium of Materia Medica", the Ming Dynasty physician Li Shizhen quoted a lot of the content of "Materia Medica".
By the Qing Dynasty, the influence of "Materia Medica" spread throughout Asia, the Americas and Europe. The Russian physician Baylor identified more than 100 of these plant species and believed that its achievements were at least 70 years earlier than those of the West. The American scientist Schwengao described it as "the most outstanding herbal book of the Middle Ages".
The British scholar Joseph Needham has the most pertinent evaluation of "Materia Medica". He said bluntly: "The work of Zhu Huan and others is a great contribution of the Chinese in the humanitarian field, and Zhu Huan is both a great pioneer and a great humanitarian. ＂
It can be said that the masterpiece "Materia Medica" not only fills the gap in Chinese botany, but also makes outstanding contributions to the development of world medicine. Its publication marked the pinnacle of Zhu Hu's medical research.
In the twenty years of Yongle, Zhu Hu is over sixty years old, and he is already dying. In this year, he officially stepped down from the title of King of Zhou and lived in seclusion in the countryside of Kaifeng. Since then, he has never asked about the government and politics, but only devoted himself to writing, recording the experience of many years of medical research.
In the twenty-fourth year of Yongle, Zhu Hu completed another of his masterpieces, "Materia Medica". This work consists of ten volumes, recording the morphological characteristics and growth environment of hundreds of plants, and can be regarded as a companion chapter of "Materia Medica".
In the twenty-eighth year of Yongle, Zhu Hu died in Kaifeng at the age of sixty-eight. He devoted his life to medical research and devoted his life to saving the common people. Although he was despised in the court, his medical contributions will go down in history.
Zhu Hu's medical writings did not attract much attention in the Ming Dynasty, but they were highly regarded in the Qing Dynasty. Emperor Qianlong ordered that works such as "Saving the Famine Materia Medica" were painted into a book, and they were widely circulated throughout the country.
In modern times, Zhu Hu's medical contributions have been internationally recognized. In 1959, UNESCO listed "Materia Medica" as one of the "World's Precious Ancient Books".
In 1997, Zhu was also awarded the "Outstanding Botanist Award" by the Botanical Society of America.
From Zhu Hu, who was regarded as an absurd prince, to being praised as a "scientific giant" and "humanitarian" in later generations, Zhu Hu used his life to interpret the power of persistent pursuit. His achievements in medical research have not only saved countless lives, but also made outstanding contributions to the development of science in the world.