 Before ascending to the throne he followed his father as the Prince of Tang and elder brother, the future Longwu Emperor, their fief being situated in Nanyang prefecture, in Henan province.In 1646 he succeeded the title of Prince of Tang after the accession of the Longwu Emperor.When Qing forces captured Fuzhou in early October 1646 and killed the Longwu Emperor, he fled to Guangzhou.