Zhang Fu (; ; 1375–1449),
courtesy name
A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...
Wenbi (), was a Chinese military general
of the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...
. He was the eldest son of general
Zhang Yu, one of Zhu Di's (later
Yongle Emperor) finest generals. Zhang Yu was killed in the
Jingnan campaign, Zhang Fu succeeded his father's title. After Zhu Di crowned the
Yongle Emperor, Zhang Fu was granted the title "Count of Xin'an" (). In 1405, he was elevated to the title "Marquis of Xincheng" ().
Zhang was dispatched to
attack Vietnam together with
Mu Sheng () in 1406. In the next year, he captured the Vietnamese usurper
Hồ Quý Ly
Hồ Quý Ly ( vi-hantu, 胡季犛, 1336 – 1407?) ruled Đại Ngu (Vietnam) from 1400 to 1401 as the founding emperor of the short-lived Hồ dynasty. Quý Ly rose from a post as an official served the court of the ruling Trần dynasty and ...
, and his son
Hồ Hán Thương. He then reported to the emperor that the
Trần lineage had been destroyed by Hồ Quý Ly so that there was no successor, and the populace "requested again to be a province of China".
Vietnam was annexed by China again and renamed to
Jiaozhi province (). For this accomplishment, he was elevated to the title "Duke of Ying" ().
Later, he put down the rebellion of two Vietnamese princes,
Trần Ngỗi and
Trần Quý Khoáng successfully, but failed to put down a number of revolts among the Vietnamese people against the Ming authorities. One of these rebel leaders was
Lê Lợi
Lê Lợi (, chữ Hán: 黎利; 10 September 1385 – 5 October 1433), also known by his temple name as Lê Thái Tổ (黎太祖) and by his pre-imperial title Bình Định vương (平定王; "Prince of Pacification"), was a Vietnamese peopl ...
, who later became the founder of
Lê dynasty
The Lê dynasty, also known in historiography as the Later Lê dynasty (, chữ Hán: 朝後黎, chữ Nôm: 茹後黎), officially Đại Việt (; Chữ Hán: 大越), was the longest-ruling List of Vietnamese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasty, h ...
.
['' Việt Nam sử lược'' by Trần Trọng Kim, Quyển 1, Chương 14] Zhang was recalled to
Nanjing
Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400.
Situated in the Yang ...
in 1415.
Later, he followed the Yongle Emperor in several
military expeditions against the Mongols. He was granted the title of
Grand Preceptor and trusted by the
Hongxi Emperor. One of his daughters married Hongxi. He was ordered to participate in superintending the compilation of ''
Taizong Shilu'', the imperial annals of the Yongle Emperor. In 1426, he put down the rebellion of
Zhu Gaoxu. After the
Zhengtong Emperor ascended the throne, he served as one of regents together with
Jian Yi (),
Xia Yuanji,
Yang Shiqi (),
Yang Rong () and
Yang Pu (). He was killed in the
Tumu Crisis together with many high-ranking officials and generals. He was elevated to the title "Prince of Dingxing" (), and given the
posthumous name ''Zhonglie'' (忠烈 loyal merit) posthumously.
['' History of Ming'', vol. 154]
References
{{reflist
1375 births
1449 deaths
Chinese military personnel killed in action
Ming dynasty generals
People from Kaifeng
15th-century regents