Fang Guozhen

Fang Guozhen (1319–1374), a native of Huangyan in Zhejiang, was the leading coastal rebel of the late Yuan. In 1348 he formed a pirate band among the offshore islands and preyed on the grain ships feeding the Yuan capital Dadu. Yuan forces failed to defeat him, and official titles secured only his nominal submission.

By 1356 he ruled the coastal prefectures of Qingyuan, Taizhou and Wenzhou with a thousand-ship fleet, and from 1357 he helped Zhang Shicheng ship grain north to Dadu. Zhu Yuanzhang's generals seized his ports in 1367 and Fang surrendered that December; Zhu needed his fleet and granted him favorable terms. Fang died in Nanjing in 1374.