Zhu Quan was the 17th son of Zhu Yuanzhang, founder of the Ming dynasty. His mother, a minor concubine surnamed Yang, was the daughter of one Zhu Yuanzhang's generals. Her family came from Nanchang, where Zhu Quan was prince from 1403 until his death in 1448.

As a child in the then-capital, Nanjing, Zhu Quan is reported to have showed the best academic potential among all the brothers. He was diligent, especially interested in classics and history, but also with a strong inclination towards Daoism. He was handsome and much favored by his father

At age 15 he went to Daning, north of the Great Wall, as prince of an area important for defense against possible attacks from Mongols. From here he supported the struggle of his elder half-brother the prince of Yan (now Beijing), Zhu Di. Thus when Zhu Di won the struggle to become emperor in 1402, Zhu Quan had hopes of becoming prince of a major center such as Suzhou or Hangzhou, so he felt betrayed when Zhu Di offered him instead a choice of minor towns in Fujian, Hubei or Shandong, or Chongqing in Sichuan. Zhu Quan then counter-proposed Nanchang, presumably because this was his wife's native area.

In March of 1403 Zhu Quan proceeded by boat up the Yangzi river and across Boyang Lake to Nanchang. In one of his later books⁵ he describes hearing musicians on this trip, including Jiang Kangzhi, a "wonderful singer", who later entered Zhu Quan's court in Nanchang as one of the "qin workers" he later mentions in his Preface to Shen Qi Mi Pu.

All the historical accounts mention Zhu Quan's precarious position in Nanchang, where he always had to be careful not to offend the emperor. In this he was more successful than some of his brothers, perhaps because he was able to follow up on his wide range of interests, from arts and science to religion and philosophy.

Zhu Quan's numerous books are well covered in both the Jonker and Yao biographies. Some of these are listed in the Qin Bibliography. Of particular note are the two that concern the qin:

1. Shen Qi Mi Pu
   The earliest surviving collection of qin melodies
2. Taigu Yiyin (1413 edition)
   This collection of qin materials doesn't survive, but some of the essays and other comments Zhu Quan wrote for it are included in a later edition.

Yao adds very interesting details on Zhu, showing him to have been a devoted husband and father. (Some details to be added)

Because of his political uncertainty he spent much of his later life at a country home by the hills across the Gan river, which flows up the west side of Nanchang. This was apparently near his tomb, which still remains. The tomb consists of several rooms in the side of a hill, with two pillars about 100 meters away, guarding a path to the entrance. Nearby is a small village where everyone has the surname Zhu.

The site is shown on local Nanchang maps, but visitors are extremely rare. A new entrance is built over the old one and the contents of the grave (which included a qin or qin fragments) have been removed to the provincial museum.

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. 朱權 Zhu Quan
寧王、寧獻王，號臞仙 For more on Zhu Quan see Shen Qi Mi Pu. (琴史初編)
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2. The scene was painted by Edgar Francisko Jimenez from a photo taken by John Thompson on December 25, 1999.
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3. L. Carrington Goodrich, ed., Dictionary of Ming Biography, Vol. 1, p. 305. New York: Columbia U. Press, 1976.
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4. 姚品文 Yao Pinwen, 朱權研究 Zhu Quan Yanjiu (Study of Zhu Quan). Nanchang: Jiangxi Gaoxiao Chubanshe (Jiangxi Upper School Publishing Company), 1993. This is a minor publisher and only 1,000 copies were printed, but it is an excellent study. Ms. Yao is an emeritus professor of Chinese literature at Jiangxi Normal University in Nanchang.
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5. In his important work on drama, 太和正音譜 Taihe Zhengyin Pu
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6. Footnote 6
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Return to the Shen Qi Mi Pu index or to the Guqin ToC.

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