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Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Ming founder, the [[Hongwu Emperor]], and uncle to Hongwu's successor, the [[Jianwen Emperor]]. Following the death of Hongwu in [[1398]], and the ascension of Jianwen to the throne, Zhu Di sought to seize power for himself, succeeding in [[1402]] with an attack on the imperial palace at [[Nanjing]], which was set aflame. The Jianwen Emperor was believed killed in the fire, and his uncle, Zhu Di, then declared himself emperor, taking the reign name Yongle. Early in his reign, however, Yongle sent missions periodically to search for the Jianwen Emperor, who it was believed might have survived the attack and escaped; these missions were then, if they found him, to kill him, securing Yongle's claim to the throne. Some scholars have suggested that searching for Jianwen may have been a secondary or ulterior motive for Yongle's launching of [[Zheng He]]'s famous voyages across the entire Indian Ocean region.

Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Ming founder, the [[Hongwu Emperor]], and uncle to Hongwu's successor, the [[Jianwen Emperor]]. Following the death of Hongwu in [[1398]], and the ascension of Jianwen to the throne, Zhu Di sought to seize power for himself, succeeding in [[1402]] with an attack on the imperial palace at [[Nanjing]], which was set aflame. The Jianwen Emperor was believed killed in the fire, and his uncle, Zhu Di, then declared himself emperor, taking the reign name Yongle. Early in his reign, however, Yongle sent missions periodically to search for the Jianwen Emperor, who it was believed might have survived the attack and escaped; these missions were then, if they found him, to kill him, securing Yongle's claim to the throne. Some scholars have suggested that searching for Jianwen may have been a secondary or ulterior motive for Yongle's launching of [[Zheng He]]'s famous voyages across the entire Indian Ocean region.

Immediately after claiming the throne, Yongle officially named [[Beijing]] the new capital of the empire; ruling in Nanjing after having set fire to that palace was profoundly troublesome for his efforts to build a sense of legitimacy. He was not, however, able to actually relocate the Court and government to Beijing until [[1420]], after a major public works project repaired and reconstructed the [[Great Canal]]. For a time, Ming tax revenues had been shipped by sea, but ''[[wako|wakô]]'' ("Japanese" pirates) attacks were making this increasingly unsafe. Once the Imperial Court, along with the army and numerous associated individuals and families, relocated to Beijing, the city grew to become, quite likely, the largest city in the world.<ref>Hansen (p377) gives the figure of 2 million residents, but this seems difficult to believe, given that other sources indicate that Beijing and [[Edo]] were roughly tied for largest city in the world at roughly 1 to 1.5 million people in the mid-18th to early 19th centuries, hundreds of years later.<br>Yokohari, Makoto. "Agro-activities in the Fringe of Asian Mega-Cities." Institute of Policy and Planning Sciences, University of Tsukuba (2003), 1-2.<br>Nicholas Fiévé and Paul Waley, ''Japanese capitals in historical perspective: place, power and memory in Kyoto, Edo and Tokyo'', Psychology Press (2003), 100.<br>Other sources, speaking of the early Ming, give the city's population as reaching 1 million at that time. Lillian M. Li, Alison Dray-Novey, and Haili Kong, ''Beijing: From Imperial Capital to Olympic City'', Macmillan (2008), 27.</ref>

Immediately after claiming the throne, Yongle officially named [[Beijing]] the new capital of the empire; ruling in Nanjing after having set fire to that palace was profoundly troublesome for his efforts to build a sense of legitimacy. He was not, however, able to actually relocate the Court and government to Beijing until [[1420]], after a major public works project repaired and reconstructed the [[Grand Canal]]. For a time, Ming tax revenues had been shipped by sea, but ''[[wako|wakô]]'' ("Japanese" pirates) attacks were making this increasingly unsafe. Once the Imperial Court, along with the army and numerous associated individuals and families, relocated to Beijing, the city grew to become, quite likely, the largest city in the world.<ref>Hansen (p377) gives the figure of 2 million residents, but this seems difficult to believe, given that other sources indicate that Beijing and [[Edo]] were roughly tied for largest city in the world at roughly 1 to 1.5 million people in the mid-18th to early 19th centuries, hundreds of years later.<br>Yokohari, Makoto. "Agro-activities in the Fringe of Asian Mega-Cities." Institute of Policy and Planning Sciences, University of Tsukuba (2003), 1-2.<br>Nicholas Fiévé and Paul Waley, ''Japanese capitals in historical perspective: place, power and memory in Kyoto, Edo and Tokyo'', Psychology Press (2003), 100.<br>Other sources, speaking of the early Ming, give the city's population as reaching 1 million at that time. Lillian M. Li, Alison Dray-Novey, and Haili Kong, ''Beijing: From Imperial Capital to Olympic City'', Macmillan (2008), 27.</ref>

The ''[[Yongle Dadian]]'', the largest encyclopedia ever compiled, was commissioned by the Yongle Emperor in [[1407]]; roughly 2,000 literati were involved in its production. He also commissioned, in [[1414]], the production of a definitive edition of the "Four Books" - the four classical texts identified by [[Zhu Xi]] as the core of the [[Neo-Confucian]] curriculum, restoring the full-length ''[[Mencius]]'' into use after an abbreviated version was promoted by the [[Hongwu Emperor]]. Among Yongle's other notable cultural contributions was the construction of a nine-story, more than 276-foot tall octagonal porcelain pagoda in Nanjing; built following the death of his wife, it remained standing until [[1854]], when it was destroyed in the [[Taiping Rebellion]].<ref>Conrad Schirokauer, et al, ''A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations'', Fourth Edition, Cengage Learning (2012), 245.</ref>

The ''[[Yongle Dadian]]'', the largest encyclopedia ever compiled, was commissioned by the Yongle Emperor in [[1407]]; roughly 2,000 literati were involved in its production. He also commissioned, in [[1414]], the production of a definitive edition of the "Four Books" - the four classical texts identified by [[Zhu Xi]] as the core of the [[Neo-Confucian]] curriculum, restoring the full-length ''[[Mencius]]'' into use after an abbreviated version was promoted by the [[Hongwu Emperor]]. Among Yongle's other notable cultural contributions was the construction of a nine-story, more than 276-foot tall octagonal porcelain pagoda in Nanjing; built following the death of his wife, it remained standing until [[1854]], when it was destroyed in the [[Taiping Rebellion]].<ref>Conrad Schirokauer, et al, ''A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations'', Fourth Edition, Cengage Learning (2012), 245.</ref>