The Yongle Emperor, whose given name was Zhu Di, was the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty in China, reigning from 1402 to 1424. He is perhaps best known for his role in the construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing and for his sponsorship of voyages of exploration led by the eunuch admiral Zheng He.
Zhu Di was not the original heir to the throne, but rather seized power in a coup against his nephew, the Jianwen Emperor. The Jianwen Emperor's rule had been marked by a number of natural disasters and political unrest, and Zhu Di believed that he could do a better job of governing the country. After ascending to the throne, he moved the capital of China from Nanjing to Beijing and began the construction of the Forbidden City, which would serve as the imperial palace for the next 500 years.
One of Zhu Di's most significant accomplishments was the sponsorship of the voyages of exploration led by Zheng He. These expeditions, which took place between 1405 and 1433, were intended to establish China's presence in the Indian Ocean region and to establish diplomatic and trade relations with various countries. The fleet that Zheng He commanded was one of the largest and most advanced in the world at the time, and it traveled as far as the east coast of Africa.
Despite these successes, Zhu Di's rule was not without controversy. He was known for being a demanding and authoritarian ruler, and his policies were often unpopular with the people. He also faced a number of revolts and uprisings during his reign, including one led by the Prince of Yan, who was eventually captured and executed.
Overall, the Yongle Emperor was a complex and influential figure in Chinese history. His construction of the Forbidden City and sponsorship of the voyages of exploration had lasting impacts on the country, but his authoritarian rule and unpopular policies also sparked unrest during his reign.
Yongle
The book, named the Yongle Encyclopedia, is still considered one of the most marvelous human achievements in history, despite it being gradually lost by time. However it is not universally accepted as a confirmed fact by true historians, as far as I know. My impression from skimming over the Cambridge History of China was that Yongle's campaigns did not really achieve all that much. He commissioned his Grand Secretary, Xie Jin, to write a compilation of every subject and every known book of the Chinese. Diplomatic missions and exploration of the world As part of his desire to expand Chinese influence throughout the known world, Emperor Yongle sponsored the massive and long term Zheng He expeditions.
In addition to the blood relations from his nine-agnates family hierarchy, his students and peers were added to be the 10th group. The Ming dynasty, its origins and evolving institutions. In addition to the blood relations from his nine-agnates family hierarchy, his students and peers were added as the tenth group. A story about a love triangle and a fight for the throne that follows Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yun Wen and his uncle Zhu Di after they fall for the same woman and gradually turn against each other. During his reign, the stable political and economic patterns which characterized the remainder of the Yongle followed traditional rituals closely and remained When it was time for him to choose an heir, Yongle very much wanted to choose his second son, Gaoxu, an athletic warrior-type that contrasted sharply with his older brother's intellectual and humanitarian nature. He fought population decline and strengthened the economy by reclaiming uncultivated land for agriculture, utilizing the labor of the Chinese people as efficiently as possible, and maximizing textile and agricultural production. Unfortunately for the Chinese, their efforts to make Vietnam into a normal province met with a significant resistance from the local population.
As the Yongle Emperor, Zhu Di was domineering and protective of his authority. The myth has been widely repeated in English-language secondary sources including the many cited above and has lately also been embraced and embellished in China, but this should not detract from the fact that it has no basis whatsoever in premodern Chinese sources. Zheng He did not find any places that were not already known about from China's past trade, nor were these voyages concerned with trade in fact, trade was prohibited on these missions, though some took place regardless. Yongle dispatched some of his most trusted officers to reveal or destroy secret societies, Jianwen loyalists, and even bandits. If you like long slow burners you may like this. A story about a love triangle and a fight for the throne that follows Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yun Wen and his uncle Zhu Di after they fall for the same woman and gradually turn against each othe. I don't yet think there is or ever will be a definitive answer.
The Ming could only occupy Annam for 10 years. According to a popular legend, the capital was moved when the emperor's advisers brought the emperor to the hills surrounding Nanjing and pointed out the emperor's palace showing the vulnerability of the palace to artillery attack. Nonetheless, rumors persisted that Zhu Yunwen had survived. As the Hongxi Emperor, Zhu Gaozhi would lift tax burdens on peasants, outlaw foreign adventures, and promote Confucian scholars to positions of power. The Purge With Jianwen's reign ended, Zhu Di and his administration spent the latter part of 1402 brutally purging China of Jianwen's supporters and their families. The definition also included siblings and cousins related to each of the nine agnates.
Journey to Power When the When Zhu Di traveled with his guard unit to pay tribute to his deceased father, Jianwen interpreted his actions as a threat and sent forces to repel him. Also, Annam refers to current northern and part of central Vietnam. He ordered all records of the four-year-reign of Jianwen Emperor to be dated as year 32 through year 35 of the Hongwu Emperor, in order to establish himself as the legitimate successor of the Hongwu Emperor. In 1410 he returned to Tsurphu where he had his monastery rebuilt which had been severely damaged by an earthquake. Decline In 1421, the Yongle Emporer's favorite senior wife died in the spring.
Although official records claim the boy's mother was the future Empress Ma, rumors persist that his true biological mother was a Korean or Mongolian consort of Zhu Yuanzhang. In August, 1399, he rose in rebellion, declaring it his duty to rescue the inexperienced emperor from his malicious advisers. Over the next two centuries, thirteen emperors in total were laid to rest in these Religion and philosophy Yongle sponsored and created many cultural traditions in China. I spruced up the language a bit, but someone will have to do it. Yongle and Tibet In 1403, Yongle sent messages, gifts, and envoys to Tibet inviting Deshin Shekpa, the fifth Gyalwa Karmapa of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, to visit China — apparently after having a vision of Avalokitesvara.
In late 1421, after the Tatar ruler Arughtai declined to pay tribute to China, the Yongle Emperor flew into a rage, requisitioning over a million bushels of grain, 340,000 pack animals, and 235,000 porters from three southern provinces to supply his army during its attack on Arughtai. . His followers fashioned a coffin and carried him to the capital in secret. In response to this insult the Yongle Emperor sent a huge army of 500,000 south to conquer Vietnam. At 16, he married the 14-year-old daughter of General Xu Da, who commanded the northern defense forces. In 1406, the northern Vietnamese killed a Chinese ambassador and a visiting Vietnamese prince.
They are not in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. Worst of all, on May 9, 1421, three bolts of lightning struck the main buildings of the palace, setting the newly completed Forbidden City on fire. The Cambridge history of China. He is regarded as an architect and preserver of Chinese culture, because of his efforts to remove all Yongle's economic, educational, and military reforms provided unprecedented benefits for the people, but he is often criticized for his ruthless and despotic style of government. Journey to power The Hongwu Emperor died on June 24, 1398. Yongle became frustrated at his inability to catch up with his swift opponents and fell into a deep depression and then into illness suffered a series of minor strokes. Yongle created an extensive plan to strengthen and stabilize the new economy, but first he had to silence dissension.
Two concubines and a eunuch were caught having sex, setting off a horrific purge of palace staff that ended with the Yongle Emperor executing hundreds or even thousands of his eunuchs, concubines, and other servants. Some Korean nationalists claim that Yongle was half Korean. He was also concerned about the degeneration of Buddhism in China. It was a magistrate of Jining, Shandong who sent a memorandum to Yongle protesting the current method of grain shipment, a wise request that Yongle ultimately granted. This also seems quite consistent with the fact that they had to be repeated again and again. To achieve this, he abolished the lesser princedoms to undermine Zhu Di's power and create room in which to plant his own loyal generals. No future Ming emperor was ever threatened by a rebellious prince.
He built a massive palace compound there, called the Forbidden City, which was completed in 1420. When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-1433. Zhu Di was forced to leave in humiliation. The Grand Canals were almost completely restored and were eventually moving goods from all over the world. After the controversial palace fire in Nanjing that killed the Jianwen Emperor, and a later assassination attempt there against the Yongle Emperor, the third Ming ruler decided to permanently move his capital north to Beijing.
