In his early years, his grandfather moved his family to Shanghai.
His family consisted of flour millers, and his father died when Zhu was three.
He began composing in 1940 and pursued composition studies at the Moscow Conservatory in 1955.
He composed for both Western and Chinese instruments and his works have been performed around the world.
His 1950 revolutionary work Days of Emancipation (翻身的日子, Fānshēn de Rìzi; for banhu and Chinese orchestra) is well known in the West from its appearance on the 1981 CBS Masterworks compilation Phases of the Moon: Traditional Chinese Music.