What the emperor built : architecture and empire in the early Ming The Yongle emperor (r. 1402 24) one of the most famous rulers in Chinese history is perhaps best known as the builder of Beijings magnificent Forbidden City and for reconstruction of the Grand Canal. This volume is both the first book length study in a Western language of Ming dynasty (1368 1644) architecture and the first in any language devoted to the architectural projects of a single Chinese emperor. Focusing on Yongles imperial palaces in Beijing a Daoist architectural complex on Mount Wudang and a Buddhist temple at the Sino Tibetan frontier it analyzes his empire wide construction projects and demonstrates how the siting design and use of his palaces and temples established his authority and contributed to the legitimization of his usurpation of power. These architectural projects help us understand his sense of empire by the far flung locations in which he built the distant regions from which he extracted the construction materials and the use of tens of thousands of craftsmen and other laborers. Through his constructions Yongle connected himself to the divine interacted with his subjects established an imperial presence in regions far outside the capital and shaped his imperial legacy thus extending imperial influence across space and time. Spanning issues of architectural design and also of construction technologies this analysis reveals the remarkable advancements in timber frame construction as well as using an art historical approach to examine patronage audience and reception and to situate the buildings within their larger social historical and religious contexts Perfecting the past : the design and construction of the Northern Capital Great pillars of state : the rise and fall of monumental nanmu halls Becoming Zhenwu : the imperial turn at Mount Wudang From mandala to palace : transforming space and site at Gautama Monastery Conclusion : architecture as empire.