Editing Hongwu Emperor (section)

==Youth==
Zhu Yuanzhang, the future Hongwu Emperor, was born in 1328 in Zhongli ({{zhi|t=鍾離}}) village, located in Haozhou (present-day [[Fengyang County|Fengyang]], [[Anhui]]). He was the youngest of four sons in a poor peasant family.{{sfnp|Dreyer|1982|pp=22–23}}{{sfnp|Mote|1988|p=44}} He was given the name Zhu Chongba ({{zhi|t=朱重八}}) at birth,<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Hongwu |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hongwu |access-date=19 June 2011 |last=Chan |first=David B. }}</ref> but later used the name Zhu Xingzong ({{zhi|t=朱興宗}}) in adulthood.{{sfnp|Wu|1980|p=20}} After joining the rebels, he went by the name Zhu Yuanzhang. His father, [[Zhu Shizhen|Zhu Wusi]], lived in Nanjing but fled to the countryside to avoid tax collectors. His paternal grandfather was a gold miner, and his maternal grandfather was a fortune-teller and seer. In 1344, during a plague epidemic, Zhu Yuanzhang's parents and two brothers died. He managed to survive by entering a local Buddhist monastery, which was later closed due to a lack of funds.{{sfnp|Mote|2003|pp=543–545}} 

For the next three years, Zhu wandered as a mendicant monk, becoming familiar with the landscape and people of eastern [[Henan]] and northern Anhui.{{sfnp|Mote|2003|pp=545–546}}  He then returned to the monastery in 1348 and stayed for four years, during which he learned to read, write, and study the basics of Buddhism.{{sfnp|Farmer|1995|p=18}}  In 1352, when the Mongol army burned down the monks' dwellings during the [[Red Turban Rebellions|Red Turban Rebellion]], Zhu joined one of the rebel divisions.{{sfnp|Mote|2003|p=548}}