Zhu (Zhu Chongba / Zhu Yuanzhang) Character Analysis in She Who Became the Sun

Overview of Zhu (Zhu Chongba / Zhu Yuanzhang) in She Who Became the Sun

Zhu is the novel’s central protagonist, a peasant girl who, after her brother’s death, assumes his identity to escape a fate of nothingness. She begins as a nameless second daughter on the drought-stricken Huai River plains, but by the end of the first book she has risen through the Red Turban rebellion to claim the Mandate of Heaven and rename herself Zhu Yuanzhang, the Radiant King. Her journey is one of relentless self-invention, where survival and ambition blur into a single, consuming desire for greatness. The narrative traces how a person who was told she had no fate can, through sheer will and violence, forge her own destiny—even if that destiny demands the sacrifice of everyone who loves her.

Zhu’s story is the engine of the novel’s exploration of fate, identity, and power. She is both a product of her circumstances and a force that bends those circumstances to her will. Her character is defined by a paradox: she is a woman who must perform masculinity to be seen, yet her most defining traits—her hunger, her ruthlessness, her refusal to accept limits—are not gendered but human.

Plot Role

Zhu is the protagonist and the primary point-of-view character for much of the narrative. Her arc drives the plot from the opening chapters, where she buries her brother and takes his clothes, to the final scenes where she proclaims herself emperor. She is the catalyst for every major political shift in the Red Turban movement: she wins the battle at Yao River, takes the walled city of Lu, orchestrates the fall of Bianliang, and eliminates rivals—including the Prince of Radiance—to clear her own path to the throne.

Her role is also structural: she is the lens through which the novel examines the cost of ambition. Each victory she achieves comes with a moral or emotional price, and the plot repeatedly forces her to choose between her desire for greatness and her connections to others. By the end, she has sacrificed her brother’s identity, her monastic vows, her friendship with Xu Da, and her relationship with Ma Xiuying—yet she gains the empire.

Motivations and Traits Shown Through Actions

Zhu’s primary motivation is survival, which quickly evolves into a hunger for greatness. The fortune-teller’s prophecy that her fate is “nothing” becomes the spur for her entire life. She tells herself, “As long as I keep moving towards my great fate, and keep doing what I need to do, one day I’ll have it” (chapter 12). This belief in a future greatness she cannot yet see is what sustains her through hunger, abuse, and violence.

Her actions reveal several defining traits:

Pragmatism: She takes her brother’s identity because it is the only way to escape starvation. She later kills Governor Tolochu and then negotiates with his widow, Lady Rui, because it is the most efficient path to taking Lu.
Ruthlessness: She kills Prime Minister Liu Futong and the Prince of Radiance without hesitation when they become obstacles. She tells Ma, “I’m not going to stop until I rule, and I’m not going to let anyone stop me” (chapter 24).
Performance: She is a consummate actor, playing the naïve monk for Chen Youliang, the devoted servant for the Prime Minister, and the loyal brother for Xu Da. Her identity is a series of masks she wears to manipulate others.
Self-awareness: Despite her performances, she is acutely aware of the gap between her public persona and her private self. After failing to summon the red flame, she thinks, “It wasn’t that she didn’t have it; it was only that she didn’t have it yet” (chapter 12). This self-deception is both her strength and her flaw.
Desire as a consuming force: Her desire for greatness is so intense that it burns away all other attachments. She admits, “I want what I want, and sometimes I’m going to have to do certain things to get it” (chapter 24).

Chronological Arc

Zhu’s arc can be divided into four phases:

The Peasant Girl (1345): She lives as the second daughter, ignored and undervalued. When bandits kill her father and her brother falls into a catatonic state, she buries them, takes Chongba’s clothes and amulet, and walks to Wuhuang Monastery. She waits outside for four days before declaring herself Zhu Chongba.
The Monk (1345–1355): At the monastery, she learns to read, performs the role of a devout novice, and eventually becomes a monk. She witnesses the eunuch general Ouyang’s attack on the monastery and is flung out into the world. She joins the Red Turbans, where she rises through the ranks by winning the battle at Yao River and taking Lu.
The Commander (1355–1356): She becomes a commander, then a general, and uses her position to outmaneuver rivals like Little Guo and Chen Youliang. She takes Bianliang, kills Prime Minister Liu, and gains control of the Prince of Radiance.
The Radiant King (1356): She kills the Prince of Radiance, proclaims herself Zhu Yuanzhang, and renames the city Jiankang as Yingtian. The novel ends with her crowning moment, where she summons the Mandate’s white flame and Ma pledges to become her Empress.

Relationships

Zhu’s relationships are defined by what she is willing to sacrifice for them—or rather, what she is not.

Ma Xiuying: Ma is Zhu’s wife and the person who sees through her performance. She loves Zhu for who she is, not the identity she performs. Their relationship is tested when Zhu kills the Prince of Radiance, and Ma confronts her with the ultimatum: rise with her or leave. Ma ultimately chooses to stay, but the cost is her own moral compromise. The text shows Ma’s pain: “For Zhu, Ma’s pain was worth it. But for me, will it be?” (chapter 24).
Xu Da: Xu Da is Zhu’s loyal friend and brother-in-arms. He follows her without question, even when she reveals her true nature. He is the one who asks, “What does that even mean: to be great?” (chapter 12), a question Zhu never fully answers.
Chen Youliang: Chen is a rival and a mirror. He is also ruthless and ambitious, but he lacks Zhu’s capacity for self-denial. Zhu uses him as a foil, and their conflict culminates in Chen’s defeat at Bianliang.
The Prince of Radiance: The child is a symbol of the Mandate, but also a pawn. Zhu kills him because he tells her that neither Liu Futong nor Zhu Chongba will rule. His death is the ultimate proof of her willingness to destroy anything that stands in her way.
Ouyang: The eunuch general is an antagonist, but also a figure of shared experience. Both are outsiders who have been denied their bodies’ potential. Zhu’s connection to him is one of recognition, but she ultimately chooses to oppose him.

Key Decisions and Consequences

Assuming her brother’s identity: This decision saves her life but erases her own name and past. It also sets her on a path where she must constantly perform masculinity, which she later abandons when she becomes Zhu Yuanzhang.
Killing Governor Tolochu: This is her first murder, and it marks her transition from passive survivor to active agent. It also leads to her imprisonment and her encounter with Lady Rui, which nearly exposes her secret.
Killing Prime Minister Liu Futong: She kills him to claim the Mandate for herself. The consequence is that she gains control of the Red Turbans but also loses any pretense of serving a higher cause.
Killing the Prince of Radiance: This is the most morally fraught decision. She does it because the child tells her she will not rule. The consequence is that she loses Ma’s trust and must confront the possibility that her desire has made her monstrous.
Renaming herself Zhu Yuanzhang: This is her final act of self-creation. She rejects her brother’s identity and claims a new one that is entirely her own. The consequence is that she becomes the Radiant King, but she also becomes someone who has “lost everything” to get there.

Themes and Symbols

Zhu’s character is the embodiment of several central themes:

Fate vs. self-determination: The fortune-teller’s prophecy haunts her, but she refuses to accept it. She tells the Prince of Radiance, “If you want a fate other than what Heaven gave you, you have to want that other fate” (chapter 24). Her entire arc is a rebellion against the idea that her fate is fixed.
Desire as a consuming force: The novel’s epigraph, the Fire Sermon, frames desire as a fire that burns everything. Zhu’s desire for greatness consumes her relationships, her morality, and ultimately her humanity. She becomes a “living being of fire” when she claims the Mandate.
Identity as performance: Zhu’s life is a series of performances—as a boy, a monk, a commander, a king. She is acutely aware that identity is something you do, not something you are. This is most explicit when she thinks, “I’ve been reborn as myself” (chapter 24).
Power and legitimacy: The Mandate of Heaven is a physical manifestation of power, but Zhu’s claim to it is based on her actions, not her birth. She forces Heaven to recognize her by sheer will.
The body as a site of identity and power: Zhu’s body is a constant source of anxiety—she must hide her female body, she loses a hand, and she feels the phantom pain of that loss. Her final transformation into a being of white fire suggests that she has transcended her body, but also that she is still defined by it.

Questions and Answers

Why does Zhu take her brother’s identity?

She takes it because the fortune-teller told her she had no fate, while her brother was destined for greatness. After he dies, she sees no other way to escape starvation and nothingness. She says, “I’m not,” when Lady Rui suggests she is a woman, because she has fully committed to the identity.

What is the significance of Zhu’s inability to summon the red flame?

When she tries to summon the Mandate’s flame in chapter 12, she sees nothing. This moment reveals her doubt and her fear that she may not be destined for greatness. She rationalizes it by telling herself she doesn’t have it yet, which shows her determination to believe in her own fate.

Why does Zhu kill the Prince of Radiance?

She kills him because he tells her that neither Liu Futong nor Zhu Chongba will rule. She interprets this as a threat to her own claim, and she decides that the child must die so that she can become the sole claimant to the Mandate. She tells Ma, “It’s the only way to get what I want.”

How does Zhu’s relationship with Ma change over the course of the novel?

Initially, Ma is a source of comfort and a witness to Zhu’s humanity. After Zhu kills the Prince of Radiance, Ma confronts her and gives her an ultimatum. Ma ultimately chooses to stay and become Empress, but the relationship is permanently scarred by Zhu’s willingness to sacrifice others for her ambition.

What does Zhu’s final transformation into Zhu Yuanzhang signify?

It signifies her complete rejection of her brother’s identity and her embrace of a self she has created entirely through her own actions. She claims the Mandate and becomes a being of white fire, symbolizing that she has become the embodiment of her own desire. The name Zhu Yuanzhang is a historical reference, but in the novel it represents her refusal to accept any fate other than the one she makes for herself.

For further exploration, see the themes of fate vs. self-determination, desire as a consuming force, and identity as performance. You can also read the ending explained or browse questions and answers.