Zhu Su

Zhu Su (8 October 1361 – 2 September 1425) was a prince of the Ming dynasty of China, as well as a medical scientist and botanist. He was the fifth son of the Hongwu Emperor and Empress Ma. In 1370, he was made the Prince of Wu, and in 1378, his title was changed to Prince of Zhou. He was assigned to Kaifeng in 1381. In 1389, the Hongwu Emperor banished Zhu Su to Yunnan for leaving his fief without permission. After his father's death, Zhu Su became the first major target of the policies introduced by the Jianwen Emperor to reduce the power of the imperial princes. Accused of plotting treason by one of his own sons, Zhu Su was stripped of his title and exiled again. After the Yongle Emperor seized the throne, he restored Zhu Su to his princely rank in 1403 but excluded him from state affairs. The prince then devoted himself to scientific and literary pursuits, using the resources of his princely estate to study botany and medicine. He authored the herbal treatise Jiuhuang bencao ("Famine Relief Herbal"), a pioneering work on edible wild plants, and compiled more than 60,000 medical prescriptions before his death in 1425.