Fu Zhong

Fu Zhong, whose courtesy name is not recorded, was a native of Suzhou. He was an official during the Ming Dynasty, husband of Princess Shouchun, the ninth daughter of Ming Taizu, and son of Fu Youde, Duke of Yingguo. His birth and death years are unknown, but he died on December 20, 1394. On the tenth day of the third month of the nineteenth year of Hongwu (1386), Princess Shouchun married Fu Zhong, who was appointed as Grand Marshal Escort. The princess was greatly loved by Ming Taizu and was granted over a hundred hectares of good land in Wu County, which yielded an annual income of 8,000 shi—far exceeding that of other princesses. The couple had one son, named Fu Yan. Princess Shouchun passed away on June 29, 1388, in the twenty-first year of Hongwu. During the family incident involving Fu Youde, Fu Youde was accused by Ming Taizu of great disrespect after not eating a dish served at his court, and was ordered to summon his two sons, Fu Zhong’s two sons, to appear. The orders included the command to "bring their heads back." Fu Youde brought back the heads of his two sons and then committed suicide. Ming Taizu exiled Fu Youde’s family to Liaodong and Yunnan, only allowing Fu Zhong’s descendants, including Fu Yan, to remain.