Perpetual Happiness: The Ming Emperor Yongle (Donald R. Ellegood International Publications)

A colorful portrait of the greatest of the Ming emperors. Builder of the Great Wall, Yongle (1368-1644) also moved the capital to Beijing and built the Forbidden City, completed the Grand Canal, strengthened the court bureaucracy, and explored the world. 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. Perpetual Happiness Will Captivate All Who Enjoy Historical Biography, And Will Be Of Interest To Specialists In History And Asian Studies.--jacket. 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: Government 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. Shih-shan Henry Tsai. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Contents List of Maps Acknowledgments Preface 1 / A Day in the Life of Yongle’s Court: February 23, 1423 2 / The Formative Years, 1360–1382 3 / The Years of Waiting, 1382–1398 4 / The Years of Successional Struggle, 1398–1402 5 / The Years of Reconstruction: Government and Politics, 1402–1420 6 / The Years of Rehabilitation: Society and Economy, 1402–1421 7 / The Emperor of Culture 8 / Yongle and the Mongols 9 / The Price of Glory 10 / Epilogue Appendix: The Children of Emperor Hongwu Notes Glossary of Chinese Characters Bibliography Index "Perpetual Happiness will captivate all who enjoy historical biography, and will be of interest to specialists in history and Asian studies."--BOOK JACKET. The first comprehensive portrait of a dynamic Chinese emperor who laid many of the bureaucratic foundations of modern China