His Early Life
The Yongle Emperor was born in 1360. He was the fourth son of Zhu Yuanzhang - a man of exceptional talent and ambition who had risen from obscurity to seize the throne as Emperor Taizu and who founded the Ming Dynasty.
At the tender age of eleven Zhu Di was given the title of Prince of Yan. This was more than simply an honorific title and his responsibility in this position was to help to secure the northern borders against the constant threat of raiders and invasion. He based himself in Beiping - which was by then a largely derelict city but which remained as the strategic centre from which to guard the north of the Empire.
Zhu Di grew up in what was effectively a military encampment. By the time he was in his early twenties had already led a series of successful offensives against the Mongols. He very rapidly distinguished himself as a leader possessed of considerable courage and energy but also of huge ambition. In his formative years he helped to reform the structure of his army by making more extensive use of light cavalry, this enabled him to match the Mongols and meant that it was possible for him to chase the enemy across the steppes.
When the Crown Prince died in 1392 there was a power struggle over who should be nominated as the new heir. Ultimately the ever-ambitious Zhu Di lost out to his nephew Zhu Yunwen.
Rebellion
In 1398 Emperor Taizu eventually died. The twenty-one year-old Zhu Yunwen was crowned as Emperor Jianwen. Almost immediately there was tension between Jianwen and Zhu Di. This first manifested itself in an argument when Jianwen, fearful of Zhu Di's intentions, refused to allow Zhu Di and his military retinue to come to the capital and visit his father's tomb. Jianwen then began to move more decisively against Zhu Di, firstly by issuing edicts to strip away the powers away from the princes and then by appointing loyalists to key positions around him.
Eventually, in July 1399, Zhu Di began to openly revolt against Emperor Jianwen. He claimed that he had been forced into taking this action in order to purge the court of the bad influences and bad advisors.
What followed was three years of civil war during which Zhu Di and his son Zhu Gaoxi demonstrated their military acumen and bravery in a series of battles. In 1402 he boldly gambled on a march on Nanjing and on the Emperor's Palace. This plan worked perfectly and caught Jianwen by suprise. In the chaos which ensued as Zhu Di entered the city the Palace caught fire. Emperor Jianwen and his wife were almost certainly burned to death in the inferno, although his remains could not be identified.
As Emperor
Four days after the fire Zhu Di assumed the throne as the Yongle Emperor. He selected the regnal name Yongle (or Yong Le) which means 'Perpetual Happiness'; however he could scarcely have chosen a less appropriate name given his actions in the following few months. He first set about ruthlessly purging all of Jianwen's supporters and anyone who he felt might be a threat to him. He made extensive use of the punishment of 'nine exterminations' which not only meant the execution of the person themselves but of their entire extended family. Most famously he ordered the execution of the scholar Fang Xiaoru for refusing to write him an inaugural address, together with all his family and students - reputedly a total of some 870 people.
Altogether some 10,000 people were thought to have been executed in the weeks following the accession of the Yongle Emperor. One of the few survivors of this purge was Jianwen's two-year old son Zhu Wengui who was imprisoned and then forgotten for fifty years.
Forbidden Palace
With the Nanjing Palace destroyed the Yongle Emperor returned to Beiping which became the de facto capital. In 1406 he finally began building a palace in the city - to match his ambition this palace was built on an epic scale. In 1421, after a huge cost in both money and in lives, the palace was completed. The palace would subsequently become known to the world as the Forbidden City. With his palace complete he decided to formally declare Beiping as his new capital. In doing so he changed the name from Beiping (meaning North Pacified) to Beijing (North Capital). As part of the infrastructure work he had also invested huge resources into repair and improvements on the Grand Canal as it vastly improved transport to the city.
Zheng He
From 1405 until his death he sent the eunuch Zheng He and a huge fleet of ships on a series of expeditions around Asia and Africa and, perhaps, as far as the Americas. It is rumoured that the main purpose of these missions was to try to find Emperor Jianwen, as the Yongle Emperor became increasingly concerned that he may have survived the palace fire and be ready for revenge. Other motives could have been to search for the elixir of life or simply curiosity.
Death
During his reign he personally led five expeditions to the northern borders to subdue raiders and to pacify the region. In 1424 he commanded an expedition against the Mongol Chief Alutai, however in doing so he contracted an illness and died on his way back to Beijing.
In 1407 Empress Xu had died and the Emperor had chosen a site for her tomb near to Beijing and began the construction of a huge mausoleum. This area was subsequently used by successive Emperors and is now known as the Ming Dynasty Tombs. His tomb (and that of the Empress) is called Changling.
Legacy
His reign is considered one of the golden periods of Chinese history and coincided with a zenith in Chinese power. However despite this his personal achievements are largely overshadowed by his legendary violence. Although towards the end of his reign he began to publicly express remorse at his actions these were not matched with deeds - in 1420 he believed that one of his favourite concubines had been poisoned and so ordered the execution of 2,800 ladies of the court by the lingering method of 'death by a thousand cuts'.
Peter Geer is a partner of Crazy Dragon Books which sells books relating to all aspects of Chinese History and Culture. Please visit Crazy Dragon History Books if you would like more information about Chinese history.
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