Zhu Wen

IMPORTANT MESSAGE: Emperor Shun (舜帝) is not the Zhu Wen (朱溫) mentioned in this article. Someone mistakenly used Emperor Shun(舜帝)'s picture and put it on the infobox of Zhu Wen (朱溫), that is why it was removed from the infobox on October 30, 2024. Please note that because of this previous must be corrected mistake, there are other websites that use wiki as reference also made the same mistake that must be corrected. Please do not upload a picture of Emperor Shun (舜帝) or other Tang Dynasty's Emperors' pictures that is not Zhu Wen to the infobox of this page. Please make sure that you check out Emperor Shun (舜帝) and Tang Dynasty's Emperor's pictures online, so you won't recognized someone else as Zhu Wen (朱溫) mentioned in this article.

Emperor Taizu of Later Liang
後梁太祖
朱溫(殘唐五代史演義傳)
Emperor of the Later Liang dynasty
ReignJune 1, 907[1][2] – July 18, 912
SuccessorZhu Yougui
BornDecember 5, 852[1][3]
Dangshan, Songzhou, Tang China (modern Dangshan County, Suzhou, Anhui)
DiedJuly 18, 912(912-07-18) (aged 59)[1][4]
Kaifeng
Burial
Xuan Mausoleum (宣陵; in modern Yichuan County, Henan)
Full name
  • Family name:
    Zhū (朱)
  • Given name:
    Originally Wēn (溫),
    later Quánzhōng (全忠)
    (changed 882),
    later Huǎng (晃) (changed 907)
Era dates
Kāipíng (開平): 907–910
Qiánhuà (乾化): 911–912
Posthumous name
Emperor Shénwǔ Yuánshèng Xiào (神武元聖孝皇帝)
Temple name
Tàizǔ (太祖)
HouseZhu
DynastyLater Liang
OccupationMilitary general, monarch, politician

Emperor Taizu of Later Liang (後梁太祖), personal name Zhu Quanzhong (朱全忠) (December 5, 852 – July 18, 912), né Zhu Wen (朱溫), name later changed to Zhu Huang (朱晃), nickname Zhu San (朱三, literally, "the third Zhu"), was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician. He was a Jiedushi (military governor) and warlord who in 907 overthrew the Tang dynasty and established the Later Liang dynasty, ruling as its first emperor, ushering in the era of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. The last two Tang emperors, Emperor Zhaozong of Tang (Li Jie) and Emperor Ai of Tang (Li Zuo), who "ruled" as his puppets from 903 to 907, were both murdered by him.

Zhu Wen initially served as a general under the rebel Huang Chao, but defected to the weakened Tang dynasty in 882. Taking advantage of the total chaos in the wake of Huang Chao's defeat, Zhu Wen was able to conquer parts of central China after destroying warlords such as Qin Zongquan, Shi Pu, Zhu Xuan, and Zhu Jin, although most of Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Hebei remained outside his reach, controlled by rival states Qi, Jin, and Yan respectively. Most of his later campaigns were directed at the Shatuo-ruled Jin state (later to become the Later Tang) based in Shanxi, but they failed because of the Jin leaders, Li Keyong and his son Li Cunxu. Due to his emphasis on unifying the north, Taizu was not able to make any inroads into southern China. Southern China came to be controlled by about seven different states, and the ruler Yang Wu and Former Shu was not submissive to him.

Zhu Wen used a combination of strict enforcement, ruthless violence and solicitation to ensure his officers stayed loyal to him. Zhu Wen was also a notorious sexual predator who raped not only the wives of his officers Yang Chongben and Zhang Quanyi, but also his own daughters-in-law. Zhu Wen's reign came to an end in 912 when he was murdered in his palace by his son Zhu Yougui, whom he had begotten with a prostitute.