Zhu Xi
In 1179, after not serving in an official capacity since 1156, Zhu Xi was appointed Prefect of Nankang Military District (南康軍), where he revived White Deer Grotto Academy. and got demoted three years later for attacking the incompetency and corruption of some influential officials. There were several instances of receiving an appointment and subsequently being demoted. Upon dismissal from his last appointment, he was accused of numerous crimes and a petition was made for his execution. Much of this opposition was headed by Han Tuozhou, the Prime Minister, who was a political rival of Zhu's. Even though his teachings had been severely attacked by establishment figures, almost a thousand brave people attended his funeral. After the death of Han Tuozhou, Zhu's successor Zhen Dexiu, together with Wei Liaoweng, made Zhu's branch of Neo-Confucianism the dominant philosophy at the Song Court.
Zhu Shugui
Zhu Shugui (1617 – 21 July 1683), courtesy name Tianqiu and art name Yiyuanzi, formally known as the Prince of Ningjing, was a Ming dynasty prince and the last of the pretenders to the Ming throne after the fall of the Ming Empire in 1644. He committed suicide when forces of the Manchu-led Qing Empire conquered the pro-Ming Kingdom of Tungning in Taiwan, where he took shelter after mainland China fell under Qing control. He was a ninth-generation descendant of Zhu Yuanzhang (the Hongwu Emperor), the founder of the Ming dynasty, via the line of Zhu Yuanzhang's 15th son, Zhu Zhi (the Prince of Liao).