father predecessor successor succession house mother birth_place death_date death_place birth_date spouse issue image article_title name reign spouses
the hongwu emperor the jianwen emperor the hongxi emperor 3rd ming emperor of china house of zhu empress xiao ci gao yingtian , yuan empire 12 august 1424 yumuchuan october 2012 , inner mongolia 2 may 1360 empress renxiaowen zhu an princess yongping zhu gaoxu , prince of han zhu gaochi gaosui , prince jian of zhao princess ancheng princess xianning , princess changning zhu gaoxi the hongxi emperor princess yong ` anonymous-ming chengzu.jpg yongle emperor
 the yongle emperor 明成祖 17 july 1402 -- 12 august 1424 noble gong '' zhaoyi '' ryeo '' jieyu '' lee '' yonger xian '' beauty lady choi beauty lady gong rong beauty lady xian jing hui beauty lady zhuang hui consort zhong jing zhao shun xian consort consort kang mu yi gong hui consort gong shun rong mu zhao li consort kang jing zhuang he hui consort duan jing xian gong hui shu consort gong he rong shun xian consort noble zhao su jing hui xian consort zhao hui gong yi consort shun consort hui mu zhao jing shun consort kang hui zhao zhuang shu li consort an shun hui consort gong yi yi hui consort zhao shun de consort kang yi shun consort consort hui mu shun consort zhen jing shun consort shun lee
yongle emperor

the yongle emperor -lrb- 2 may 1360 -- 12 august 1424 -rrb- , formerly romanized as the yung-lo or yonglo emperor , was the third emperor of the ming dynasty in china , reigning from 1402 to 1424 .
born as zhu di , he was originally created prince of yan -lrb- -rrb- in may 1370 , with his capital at beiping -lrb- modern beijing -rrb- .
amid the continuing struggle against the mongols , zhu di consolidated his own power and eliminated rivals such as the successful general lan yu .
he initially accepted his father 's appointment of his elder brother zhu biao and then his teen-aged nephew zhu yunwen as crown prince , but when zhu yunwen ascended the throne as the jianwen emperor and began executing and demoting his powerful uncles , zhu di found pretext for rising in rebellion against him .
assisted in large part by eunuchs mistreated by the hongwu and jianwen emperors , who both favored the confucian scholar-bureaucrats , zhu di survived the initial attacks on his fief and drove south , sacking nanjing in 1402 and declaring his new era the yongle or the time of `` perpetual happiness '' .
eager to establish his own legitimacy , zhu di voided the entire reign of his young nephew and established a wide-ranging effort to destroy or falsify records concerning his childhood and rebellion .
this included a massive purge of the confucian scholars in nanjing and grants of extraordinary extralegal authority to the eunuch secret police .
one favorite was zheng he , who employed his authority to launch major voyages of exploration into the south pacific and indian oceans .
the difficulties in nanjing also led the yongle emperor to re-establish beiping as another -lrb- and primary -rrb- capital : beijing .
he repaired and reopened the grand canal and , between 1406 and 1420 , directed the construction of the forbidden city .
he was also responsible for the porcelain tower of nanjing , considered one of the wonders of the world before its destruction by the taiping rebels in 1856 .
as part of his continuing attempt to control the scholars , the yongle emperor also greatly expanded the imperial examination system in place of his father 's use of personal recommendation and appointment .
these scholars completed the monumental `` yongle encyclopedia '' during his reign .
the yongle emperor died while personally campaigning against the mongols .
he is buried in the changling tomb , the central and largest mausoleum of the ming dynasty tombs located north of beijing .
