Zhu Zaiyu

On the emperor's order, he was granted a new princely title in 1606, the year he delivered a set of ten musicological treatises to the court, establishing his scholarly merit.

His work has been described as "the crowning achievement of two millennia of acoustical experiment and research" (Robinson 1962:224)[3] and he is described as "one of the most important historians of his nation's music".

[4] Zhu also wrote treatises (three survive) on astronomy, physics, mathematics and calendrics, calculated the magnetic declination of Peking, the mass density of mercury and accurately described the duration of one tropical year to correct the Ming calendar.

Zhu's work on equal temperament did not get any official recognition during his lifetime nor during the Qing dynasty.

This was due to the Ming and Qing emphasis on classical scholarship and discouragement of ideas based on empirical observation rather than textual interpretations.