Ministers › Diplomat / Envoy
Zhu Zhiwu
Zheng official who in 630 BCE was lowered from the besieged city walls at night and persuaded Duke Mu of Qin to withdraw.
On a road beside a desert gateway, a camel train carries a lidded chest and rolled bundles while travellers walk along the path; a large sailing ship lies in the harbour at the right, a stone waymark stands by the road, and dunes and mountains fill the distance.
Also known as Zhu Zhiwu, Grandee of Zheng
- Roles
- Diplomat / Envoy
Zhu Zhiwu was a long-overlooked man of Zheng in the Spring and Autumn period. In 630 BCE, when Duke Wen of Jin and Duke Mu of Qin besieged Zheng, Yi Zhihu recommended him to Duke Wen of Zheng. After protesting that even in his prime he had been no match for others, he was lowered from the walls at night and argued to Duke Mu that destroying Zheng would only strengthen Qin's neighbour Jin at Qin's expense. Qin made peace with Zheng, left troops to guard it and withdrew, and Jin then retreated as well. He is the hero of 'Zhu Zhiwu Persuades Qin to Withdraw' in the Zuo zhuan.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; active c. 630 BCE