Yongle Emperor

Emperor of Ming dynasty China from 1402 to 1424

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Fame63.1
Momentum9.3
China rank#144
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Lived 1360–1424, aged 64China

China

Wikipedia
53 languages
Cross-language footprint
Rank in China
#144
Era
1360–1424
Aged 64

Summary

Updated 2026-08-29

He took the throne by force from his nephew after three years of civil war, then moved the capital north and built the Forbidden City from scratch. The empire he commanded sent fleets to Africa and armies into Mongolia — neither quite delivered what he wanted.

Biography

About

Zhu Di was born in 1360, the fourth son of the dynasty's founder. By 1380 he was Prince of Yan, stationed in Beiping to guard the northeast, where he built a reputation as a capable general. In 1399 he turned those skills against his own nephew, the Jianwen Emperor, and won the throne in 1402 after a brutal three-year campaign. He elevated Beiping to second capital, then between 1407 and 1420 mobilized hundreds of thousands to build the new seat of power — the Imperial City and Forbidden City at its core — while reconstructing the Grand Canal to feed it. He commissioned the Yongle Encyclopedia…

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