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Yongle Emperor

Yongle Emperor
Anonymous-Ming Chengzu.jpg
Emperor of the Ming Empire
Reign 17 July 1402 – 12 August 1424
Predecessor The Jianwen Emperor
Successor The Hongxi Emperor
Born (1360-05-02)2 May 1360
Yingtian, Yuan Empire
Died 12 August 1424(1424-08-12) (aged 64)
Yumuchuan, Inner Mongolia, Ming Empire
Burial 19 December 1424
Changling Mausoleum, Ming Dynasty Tombs, Beijing
Spouse Empress Renxiaowen
Concubine Noble Consort Zhaoxian
Noble Consort Zhaoyi
Consort Gongxianxian
Consort Zhongjingzhaoshunxian
Consort Kangmuyigonghui
Consort Gongshunrongmuli
Consort Kangjingzhuanghehui
Consort Duanjinggonghuishu
Consort Gongherongshunxian
Consort Zhaosujinghuixian
Consort Zhaohuigongyishun
Consort Huimuzhaojingshun
Consort Kanghuizhuangshuli
Consort Anshunhui
Consort Gongyihui
Consort Zhaoshunde
Consort Kangyishun
Consort Huimushun
Consort Zhenjingshun
Consort Shun
Lee Zhaoyi
Ryeo Jieyu
Lee Yonger
Beauty Lady Choi
Beauty Lady Gongrong
Beauty Lady Jinghui
Beauty Lady Zhuanghui
Issue Zhu Gaochi, the Hongxi Emperor
Princess Yong'an
Princess Yongping
Zhu Gaoxu, Prince of Han
Zhu Gaosui, Prince Jian of Zhao
Princess Ancheng
Princess Xianning
Princess Changning
Zhu Gaoxi
Full name
Family name: Zhu (朱)
Given name: Di (棣)
Era name and dates
Yongle (永樂): 23 January 1403 – 19 January 1425
Posthumous name
Emperor Qitian Hongdao Gaoming Zhaoyun Shengwu Shengong Chunren Zhixiao Wen
啓天弘道高明肇運聖武神功純仁至孝文皇帝
Temple name
Míng Chengzu
明成祖
House House of Zhu
Father Hongwu Emperor
Mother Empress Xiaocigao
Full name
Family name: Zhu (朱)
Given name: Di (棣)
Era name and dates
Yongle (永樂): 23 January 1403 – 19 January 1425
Posthumous name
Emperor Qitian Hongdao Gaoming Zhaoyun Shengwu Shengong Chunren Zhixiao Wen
啓天弘道高明肇運聖武神功純仁至孝文皇帝
Temple name
Míng Chengzu
明成祖
Yongle Emperor
Yongle Emperor (Chinese characters).svg
"Yongle Emperor" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese 永樂帝
Simplified Chinese 永乐帝

The Yongle Emperor (Yung-lo in Wade–Giles; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (WG: Chu Ti), was the third emperor of the Ming dynasty in China, reigning from 1402 to 1424.

Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dynasty. He was originally enfeoffed as the Prince of Yan () in May 1370, with the capital of his princedom at Beiping (modern Beijing). Amid the continuing struggle against the Mongols of the Northern Yuan dynasty, Zhu Di consolidated his own power and eliminated rivals such as the general Lan Yu. He initially accepted his father's appointment of his eldest brother Zhu Biao and then his nephew Zhu Yunwen as crown prince, but when Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne as the Jianwen Emperor and began executing and demoting his powerful uncles, Zhu Di found pretext for rising in rebellion against his nephew. Assisted in large part by eunuchs mistreated by the Hongwu and Jianwen Emperors, who both favored the Confucian scholar-bureaucrats, Zhu Di survived the initial attacks on his princedom and drove south to launch the Jingnan Campaign against the Jianwen Emperor in Nanjing. In 1402, he successfully overthrew his nephew and occupied the imperial capital, Nanjing, after which he was proclaimed Emperor and adopted the era name Yongle, which means "perpetual happiness".

Eager to establish his own legitimacy, Zhu Di voided the Jianwen Emperor's reign and established a wide-ranging effort to destroy or falsify records concerning his childhood and rebellion. This included a massive purge of the Confucian scholars in Nanjing and grants of extraordinary extralegal authority to the eunuch secret police. One favorite was Zheng He, who employed his authority to launch major voyages of exploration into the South Pacific and Indian Oceans. The difficulties in Nanjing also led the Yongle Emperor to re-establish Beiping (present-day Beijing) as the new imperial capital. He repaired and reopened the Grand Canal and, between 1406 and 1420, directed the construction of the Forbidden City. He was also responsible for the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, considered one of the wonders of the world before its destruction by the Taiping rebels in 1856. As part of his continuing attempt to control the Confucian scholar-bureaucrats, the Yongle Emperor also greatly expanded the imperial examination system in place of his father's use of personal recommendation and appointment. These scholars completed the monumental Yongle Encyclopedia during his reign.


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