Zhang Yu () (1343 – January 9, 1401),

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 ...

Shimei (), was a

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 ...

general. He was born in

Kaifeng Kaifeng ( zh, s=开封, p=Kāifēng) is a prefecture-level city in east-Zhongyuan, central Henan province, China. It is one of the Historical capitals of China, Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and ...

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

Province. He supported Zhu Di Prince of Yan (the future

Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Chengzu of Ming, personal name Zhu Di, was the third List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 142 ...

) in the

Jingnan campaign The Jingnan campaign, or the campaign to clear away disorders, was a three-year civil war from 1399 to 1402 in the early years of the Ming dynasty of China between the Jianwen Emperor and his uncle, Zhu Di, Prince of Yan. The war was sparked by ...

against the

Jianwen Emperor The Jianwen Emperor (5 December 1377 – probably 13 July 1402), personal name Zhu Yunwen, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Huizong of Ming and by his posthumous name as the Emperor Hui of Ming, was the second emperor of the Ming d ...

. In December 1398, he gathered a force of 800 of Zhu Di's supporters to protect the Prince of Yan's residence in

Beiping "Beijing" is from pinyin ''Běijīng,'' which is romanized from , the Chinese name for this city. The pinyin system of transliteration was approved by the Chinese government in 1958, but little used until 1979. It was gradually adopted by various ...

. On December 25, 1400, Zhang and Zhu arrived in Dongchang (modern

Liaocheng Liaocheng ( zh, s=, p=Liáochéng), is a prefecture-level city in western Shandong province, China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southeast, Dezhou to the northeast, Tai'an to the south, and the provinces of Hebei and Henan t ...

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

Province). Two weeks later, he was killed in action against Jianwen's forces led by Sheng Yong, while trying to break Zhu out of an encirclement that they had been lured into.

References

* ''History of Ming'', Volume 145. 1343 births 1401 deaths Ming dynasty generals People from Kaifeng {{China-mil-bio-stub