The surname Zhu was first coined in the Western Zhou Dynasty, after the ancient emperor Zhuanxu Gaoyang. Lu Zhong, the great-great-grandson of the ancient emperor Zhuan Zhu, whose surname was Xu, had six sons. The fifth son was named An, and Dayu gave him the surname Cao.
After King Wu of Zhou destroyed the Shang Dynasty and established the Zhou Dynasty, Cao Jie, a descendant of Feng'an, established the Zhu State in Zhu (today's Zoucheng City, Shandong Province) and vassalized the Lu State. Zhu State, also known as Zou State, also known as Zhu Lou, included present-day Fei County, Zoucheng, Tengzhou, Jining Jinxiang and other counties, prefectures and cities in Shandong Province. Its capital was Zhu (now Nanzuo Village, southeast of Qufu, Shandong Province). In 614 BC, Zhu Duke Wen moved the capital to Yi (now Jiwangcheng southeast of Zoucheng, Shandong). In the middle of the Warring States Period, Chu was destroyed by Chu, and the nobles of Zhu State took the country as their surname, which was the Zhu family. Later, the descendants of Zhu State monarchs went to the city and took the surname Zhu.