第4野戦軍
Zhu was born Zhu Wenlin () in Linhai, Zhejiang in 1912, son of Zhu Zhikang (). He had a formal name used at school, Zhu Wen (). He had an elder brother, Zhu Wenbiao (). He attended Huipu School, Taizhou High School, and Zhongnan High School. He graduated from Whampoa Military Academy. After college, he went to Jiangxi with Mao Bingwen to fight against the Red Army but was captured during a battle. Zhu joined the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army in 1931 and joined the Communist Party of China in May 1933. He worked in the 18th Group Army in 1937 and the Political Department of Shandong Column in 1940. In 1943, he was sent to Yan'an to study at the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China. In late 1945, he worked in the PLA Fourth Field Army, at the same year, he was elected as a member of the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China.