List of Maps

Acknowlegments

Preface

A Day in the Life of Yongle's Court: February 23, 1423

The Formative Years, 1360-1382

The Years of Waiting, 1382-1398

The Years of Successional Struggle, 1398-1402

The Years of Reconstruction: Goverment and Politics, 1402-1420

The Years of Rehabilitation: Society and Economy, 1402-1421

The Emperor of Culture

Yongle and the Mongols

The Price of Glory

Epilogue

Appendix: The Children of Emperor Hongwu

Notes

Glossary of Chinese Characters

Bibliography

Index

The reign of Emperor Yongle, or ?Perpetual Happiness,? was one of the most dramatic and significant in Chinese history. It began with civil war and a bloody coup, saw the construction of the Forbidden City, the completion of the Grand Canal, consolidation of the imperial bureaucracy, and expansion of China's territory into Mongolia, Manchuria, and Vietnam.

Beginning with an hour-by-hour account of one day in Yongle's court, Shih-shan Henry Tsai presents the multiple dimensions of the life of Yongle (Zhu Di, 1360-1424) in fascinating detail. Tsai examines the role of birth, education, and tradition in molding the emperor's personality and values, and paints a rich portrait of a man characterized by stark contrasts. Synthesizing primary and secondary source materials, he has crafted a colorful biography of the most renowned of the Ming emperors.

The open access publication of this book was made possible by a grant from the James P. Geiss and Margaret Y. Hsu Foundation.

Shih-shan Henry Tsai is professor emeritus of history and former director of Asian studies at the University of Arkansas. He is the author of several books, including Eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty.