Zhu Di

Also known as Mingcheng Zu · Yongle Di · Ming Taizong

Zhu Di, fourth son of Zhu Yuanzhang, was made Prince of Yan in 1370 and later took up his fief at Beiping, from where he led campaigns against the Mongols. When his nephew the Jianwen Emperor began stripping the princes of power, Zhu Di rose in 1399 claiming to rid the throne of evil ministers, a campaign called Jingnan, and in 1402 he took Nanjing and became emperor, adopting the reign title Yongle the next year. From 1405 he sent Zheng He's fleets on repeated voyages to the Western Ocean, had Xie Jin, Yao Guangxiao and others compile the Yongle Encyclopedia (Yongle dadian), and built new palaces at Beijing, formally moving the capital there in 1421. He led five campaigns into the Mongolian steppe and died at Yumuchuan in 1424 on the way back from the last. His temple name, first Taizong, was changed to Chengzu in 1538; his posthumous title is Emperor Wen, and his Changling was the first of the Ming Tombs north of Beijing.