生平

朱据于黄武年间成为五官郎中，当侍御史。后来，孙权追念吕蒙、张温等有才官员，认为朱据文武兼备，可以替代他们的位置，于是任命他为建义校尉，驻兵湖孰。

黄龙元年（229年），孙权称帝，同年迁都建业，许配孙鲁育给朱据，拜左将军，封云阳侯。黄龙二年（230年），曹魏平民隐蕃投降东吴之后策动政变失败，朱据因为之前不断向孙权保荐隐蕃有帝王辅助的才能，而被剥夺入朝晋见皇帝的权利，禁令在很久才解除。与朱据同共推荐隐蕃的廷尉郝普则畏罪自杀。

嘉禾五年（236年），东吴铸造大钱，工人王遂盗取原本应该给朱据部曲的三万缗大钱，典校郎吕壹怀疑是朱据私吞的，以杖打拷问主管致死。朱据可怜主管枉死而为他厚葬，更被吕壹认为朱据心虚，孙权得到吕壹报告后，多次责问朱据，但朱据无法证明自己清白，只有自囚等待判罪。数月后，典军吏刘助发现事实真相，报告孙权，孙权才感叹：「朱据见枉，况吏民乎？」朱据沉冤得雪，吕壹则被问罪伏诛。

赤乌九年（246年），迁骠骑将军。赤乌十二年四月丙寅（249年5月8日）领丞相一职，为孙权祭拜鹊鸟。当时正处于太子孙和和鲁王孙霸的二宫之争，朱据拥护太子，意志十分坚定，更多次上书维护太子。

次年（250年），孙和被废而孙霸被赐死，朱据亦因多次进恳切进谏而触怒孙权，被降职为新都郡丞，还未上任就被中书令孙弘进言诬害，当时孙权病重，孙弘就自行下诏赐死朱据。朱据死时五十七岁。

性格特徵

• 《三国志》记载他「姿貌膂力，又能论难」，的确是文武兼备的人才。

• 《三国志》亦记载他「谦虚接士，轻财好施，禄赐虽丰而常不足用」，可见他为人有礼和慷慨。

亲属

妻子

• 孙鲁育，孙权三女，先嫁朱据，后来改嫁刘纂。

子女

• 朱熊，朱据之子，掌兵为虎林督。孙亮在位时被全公主诬陷，被杀。

• 朱损，朱据之子，娶权臣孙峻妹，掌兵担任外部督，孙亮在位时被全公主诬陷，被杀。

• 朱皇后，朱据之女，吴景帝孙休的皇后。

孙儿

• 朱宣，朱熊之子，景帝永安年间追念功绩而继承云阳侯爵位。孙皓在位时官至骠骑将军。

同宗

• 朱桓、朱异父子

Life

Zhu Ju was from Wu County, Wu Commandery, which is in present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu. The Zhu clan, which he was from, was one of the four most influential clans in Wu Commandery at the time. He was described as good-looking, physically strong, and adept in debating. In the early 220s, he was recruited by Sun Quan, the King of Wu, to serve as an Attendant of Miscellaneous Affairs (五官郎中) and Imperial Clerk (侍御史). Around the time, Ji Yan, a Master of Writing in the Selection Bureau (选曹尚书), wanted to dismiss several officials because he perceived them to be corrupt and incompetent. However, Zhu Ju disagreed with Ji Yan because he was worried that the abrupt dismissal of so many officials would lead to instability in the Wu government. He urged Ji Yan to not penalise those officials for their transgressions, and instead allow them to remain in office to make amends for their mistakes. He also suggested that Ji Yan praise the honest and hardworking officials and give encouragement to the underperforming ones. Ji Yan refused to listen to Zhu Ju and met his downfall later.

When Sun Quan considered the calibre of his subjects, he often experienced feelings of frustration and regret because he missed Lü Meng (died in 220) and Zhang Wen (deposed in 224) and could not find anyone to succeed them. Later, he felt that Zhu Ju was proficient in handling both civil and military affairs, and had the potential to inherit the legacies of Lü Meng and Zhang Wen. As such, he appointed Zhu Ju as Colonel Who Establishes Righteousness (建义校尉) and ordered him to garrison at Hushu (湖孰; in present-day Jiangning District, Nanjing, Jiangsu).

In 229, after Sun Quan declared himself emperor and established the state of Eastern Wu with its capital in Jianye (in present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu), he arranged for Zhu Ju to marry his daughter Sun Luyu. Zhu Ju was also promoted to General of the Left and enfeoffed as the Marquis of Yunyang (云阳侯).

During the Jiahe era (232–238) in Sun Quan's reign, large copper coins were manufactured in Wu, with each large coin equivalent in value to 500 small coins. Zhu Ju's army was to receive a salary of 30,000 strings of coins, but the coppersmith Wang Sui (王遂) secretly took some of the coins for himself. Zhu Ju's army was paid less than expected. Lü Yi, the supervisor of the audit bureau, suspected Zhu Ju of embezzling military funds, so he had the finance officer in Zhu's army arrested and interrogated. The officer died under torture during the interrogation. Zhu Ju felt that the officer died a wrongful death so he had the officer properly buried. Lü Yi wrote to Sun Quan and claimed that Zhu Ju conspired with the finance officer to embezzle military funds and the fact that Zhu had the officer properly buried served as evidence of the conspiracy. When Zhu Ju was repeatedly summoned to meet Sun Quan for questioning, he was unable to explain himself so he laid down on a straw mat to await his fate. Some months later, another inspector Liu Zhu discovered the truth and reported that the coppersmith Wang Sui was actually the culprit, thereby clearing Zhu Ju's name. Sun Quan was very moved when he learnt the truth and he said, "Even Zhu Ju fell victim to injustice, much less other officials and the people." He then punished Lü Yi and rewarded Liu Zhu with a million coins.

In 246, Zhu Ju was promoted to General of Agile Cavalry. On 8 May 249, he was appointed as the Imperial Chancellor (丞相). Around the time, there was a rivalry between two of Sun Quan's sons – Sun He, the Crown Prince, and Sun Ba, the Prince of Lu – over the succession to their father's throne. Zhu Ju was very open and vocal in pledging his support to Sun He, whom he deemed the legitimate heir apparent. In 250, Sun Quan forced Sun Ba to commit suicide and put Sun He under house arrest with the intention of deposing him later. When Zhu Ju, Qu Huang (屈晃) and others heard about it, they covered their heads in mud, tied themselves up, and came to beg Sun Quan to release Sun He. When Sun Quan saw them, he felt angry and scolded them for creating a disturbance. After Zhu Ju and Qu Huang repeatedly pressured Sun Quan to spare Sun He, the emperor got fed up with them and ordered them to be flogged 100 times. Qu Huang was later removed from office and sent back to his hometown, while Zhu Ju was demoted to the position of an assistant official in Xindu Commandery (新都郡; around present-day Chun'an County, Zhejiang). While Zhu Ju was en route to Xindu, Sun Hong, a supporter of Sun Ba, spoke ill of Zhu Ju in front of Sun Quan. At the time, as Sun Quan was sick, Sun Hong took advantage of the situation to forge an imperial decree in Sun Quan's name ordering Zhu Ju to commit suicide. Zhu Ju thought that the decree was genuine so he took his own life as ordered. He was 57 (by East Asian age reckoning) when he died.

Family

Zhu Ju married Sun Quan's daughter Sun Luyu. She remarried Liu Zuan after Zhu Ju's death.

Zhu Ju had two sons, Zhu Xiong (朱熊) and Zhu Sun (朱损), who were commissioned as military officers during the reign of Sun Liang. Sun Luban (Sun Luyu's sister) falsely accused them of causing Sun Luyu's death, which led to Sun Liang ordering Ding Feng to execute them. Zhu Sun married a younger sister of Sun Jun (Sun Chen's cousin).

During the reign of Sun Xiu, Zhu Ju was posthumously honoured for his contributions to Wu. Zhu Ju and Sun Luyu's daughter, Empress Zhu, married Sun Xiu. Besides, Zhu Ju's grandson Zhu Xuan (朱宣; Zhu Xiong's son) inherited his grandfather's title "Marquis of Yunyang" and married a princess. He was appointed as General of Agile Cavalry during the reign of Sun Hao.

Appraisal

Zhu Ju was known for being polite and humble. He was also very generous with his wealth and used it to help the needy, to the point where he was often short of money even though he received a high salary. Chen Shou, who wrote Zhu Ju's biography in the Sanguozhi, appraised Zhu and Wu Can as follows, "Wu Can and Zhu Ju met with unlucky fates and died in the name of righteousness. What a pity!"