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Yongle Biography |
The Yongle (永樂; previous convention: Yung-lo; Wade-Giles: Yung-le) Emperor of China was the third ruler in the Ming Dynasty, from 1403 to 1424. His temple name means "Perpetually Jubilant". His usurpation of the throne is now sometimes called the "Second Founding" of the Ming.
His name is Zhu Di (朱棣), and was the Prince of Yan, with a heavy military base in Beijing. He became known as Chengzu of Ming Dynasty (明成祖 also written Cheng Zu, or Ch'eng Tsu (Cheng Tsu) in Wade-Giles) after becoming emperor following a civil war.
He commissioned most of the exploratory sea voyages of Zheng He. During his reign the monumental Yongle Encyclopedia was completed.
He moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing. According to a popular legend, the capital was moved when the emperor's advisors brought the emperor to the hills surrounding Nanjing and pointed out the emperor's palace showing the vulnerablity of the palace to artillery attack. |
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