Yongle Emperor (Zhu Di)

The Yongle Emperor (Zhu Di, post-dynastic temple name Ming Chengzu) was the boldest, most energetic, and visionary emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, Zhu Di was Prince of Yan guarding the northern frontier at Beijing before seizing the throne in 1402 following a four-year civil war (the Jingnan campaign) against his nephew, the Jianwen Emperor.

Yongle launched monumental projects that defined traditional China: he moved the imperial capital north from Nanjing to Beijing, constructing the awe-inspiring Forbidden City (completed in 1420) and the Temple of Heaven. He repaired and extended the Grand Canal to supply Beijing with southern grain, and commissioned the monumental Yongle Encyclopedia (over 22,000 chapters), the largest paper encyclopedia in world history until Wikipedia. In foreign policy, Yongle commanded five major cavalry expeditions into the Mongolian steppes and dispatched Muslim Admiral Zheng He on seven epic oceanic treasure voyages across the Indian Ocean to Arabia and East Africa, projecting Chinese naval and geopolitical majesty across the globe.