Yongle (Civ6)/Civilopedia

The most forward-thinking and outward-looking of the Ming emperors, Yongle built the foundation for Ming’s international system and rebuilt its infrastructure. He did so via a ruthless bid for legitimacy, in which he destroyed all opposition to his claim but then expanded outward, gathering support and foreign gold for what was to become China’s quintessential empire.
The Ming Dynasty was a moment of reconsolidation for China, where, after years of foreign rule, the Han Chinese established a Han-centric power that was to last and remain prosperous for centuries. Ming was wealthy, peaceful, and… for a time… advanced. Ming was also successful in incorporating its neighbors into its orbit; the tributary system pulled much of East Asia together into a protection alliance that would lead to regional stability and the expansion of Confucian values. But over time, Ming fell into complacency and isolation, and while Ming entered the race well ahead of its competition, it emerged weakened, over-dependent on foreign gold, and unprepared for how the world had changed around it.
Such events might not have happened had the Yongle emperor had his way.
Yongle was born Zhu Di in 1360. He was the second son of another great Ming emperor – the Hongwu emperor. As such, he was an important person and a military commander who had been fighting the Mongols – both the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty as well as the great Khanates of the west. Zhu Di was next in line for the throne after his older brother, Zhu Biao. Well… so the story goes – others say Zhu Di was not at all the son of the Emperor’s primary consort but of a lesser concubine.
But Zhu Biao was his father’s favorite. And this favor extended to Biao’s family, including his son. So when Zhu Biao died suddenly, the Hongwu emperor named Zhu Biao’s son, not Zhu Di, as next in line… and Zhu Di went into rebellion.
Zhu Di fought a three-year war and won, renaming himself the Yongle Emperor. He then swept the bureaucracy ruthlessly for any trace of his nephew’s influence. This was considerable – recall the Confucian edicts to accept a peaceful rule, many scholars opposed the takeover. But many others were swept up in association - Yongle ordered the death of his enemies, especially the famous Fang Xiarou, but also everyone who had passed their exams during Fang’s tenure, all of Fang’s relatives (out to the tenth degree), and on, and on. Thousands were killed. Further, Yongle banned Mongolian cultural forms, something which had been predominant under the Yuan.
Yongle then set about making a new society. He expanded the role of the eunuchs, even including a secret police (the Eastern Depot) loyal to the emperor. He expanded, too, the scholars and historians – at least those who agreed to strike his nephew from history (and, some say, to rewrite history making Yongle the son of the Empress, not a Korean concubine). This rule extended, too, from a new source: the Forbidden City, built to mark Beijing as a new capital, closer to the Mongol lines (so as to better lead the war) and closer to Yongle’s old military outposts. With this came a reconstruction and re-fortification of the Great Wall and a re-opening of the Grand Canal.
Hongwu (Yongle’s father) was an isolationist; indeed, isolation was to be the plague of the Ming. But Yongle was rather the opposite. He actively cultivated and expanded the tribute system – indeed, this was what Zheng He’s voyages were all about – finding new potential tributaries. These trips went out to India, the Persian Gulf, and Africa, although tributaries really only came from East Asia. Significant here was the courting of Tibet – recall that Tibet remains a source of Buddhist knowledge for much of Chinese history; Ming is no different. Militarily speaking, Yongle attacked the Mongols and Vietnam, incorporating the latter into the Chinese empire and sparking the massacre of the Tran nobles.
Another achievement was the Yongle Dadian Encyclopedia, a massive work that encapsulated all Chinese knowledge to that point. There’s little new here, but a compilation of everything previously known.
Yongle died during a military campaign against the Mongols in 1424, at the age of 64.