In his later years, he was known as the Great Recluse, and because he once served as a Fengyi Lang, people called him Zhu Fengyi. A native of Wuxing (present-day Huzhou, Zhejiang), he became a Jinshi in the third year of Yuanyou (1088). However, he had no desire for officialdom and instead retreated to brew wine and write books. During this time, he conducted in-depth research on cold-damage disease. As the court placed great emphasis on medicine and sought out those skilled in medical arts, Zhu Gong was consequently recruited as a medical doctor. Later, he was accused of a crime for writing a poem by Su Dongpo and was exiled to Dazhou (present-day Daxian, Sichuan). The following year, he was reinstated as a Chaofeng Lang and appointed to oversee the Dongxiao Palace.

Zhu Gong's research on cold-damage disease placed the greatest emphasis on meridians and collaterals, believing that without understanding meridians and collaterals, one would be like a blind man groping in the dark, unaware of where the pathogenic qi lies. While using the pathways and physiological characteristics of meridians and collaterals to explain the transmission and transformation of cold-damage disease, he also particularly emphasized the comprehensive analysis of pulse and complexion to differentiate the exterior and interior, yin and yang of the disease. He classified and named external-contraction febrile diseases, applying different prescriptions, and had unique insights in differential diagnosis and treatment.

Zhu Gong first authored the book Hundred Questions on Cold-Damage Disease in the second year of Daguan (1108), which gradually became incomplete during its circulation. By the fifth year of Daguan (1112), Zhang Zhan revised and supplemented it based on Zhu Gong's personally transmitted manuscript, eventually completing it in 20 volumes and renaming it Nanyang Huoren Shu. In addition, he also compiled Illustrations of Internal and External Scenes.