Government and administration The
reign of the Yongle Emperor is often described as the "second founding" of the Ming dynasty, reflecting the major changes he introduced to his father's political system. He often ruled "from horseback", traveling between the two capitals in a manner reminiscent of the Yuan emperors. This approach, however, was criticized by officials who feared the growing influence of eunuchs and military elites, whose power depended on imperial favor. In contrast to the frequent turnover of officials under the Hongwu Emperor, the upper levels of the Yongle Emperor's administration remained relatively stable. Although the Emperor occasionally imprisoned ministers, the large-scale purges characteristic of the Hongwu era did not recur. Known for imposing harsh punishments on failure, he nonetheless readily rewarded capable officials. Major political affairs were handled primarily by eunuchs and generals, while officials managed finance, judicial matters, and routine administration. As a result, the administrative fragmentation typical of the Hongwu Emperor's reign declined, enabling the Emperor to devote less attention to day-to-day details. The political influence of the bureaucratic apparatus gradually increased, and under the Yongle Emperor's rule, ministers were able to challenge the Emperor, even at the cost of their freedom or lives. The most significant change was the emergence of the
Grand Secretariat, which played a crucial role in the politics of the Yongle Emperor's successors. Led by the grand secretaries, officials gained control of the government.
Princes and generals The Emperor restored the titles of the princes of Zhou, Qi, and Min, which had been abolished by the Jianwen Emperor, but these titles did not come with the same power and authority as before. During the latter half of his reign, the Yongle Emperor accused many of these princes of committing crimes and punished them by removing their personal guards. He had previously condemned the same actions when they were carried out by the Jianwen Emperor. In order to reduce political threats, the Yongle Emperor relocated several border princes from the north to central and southern China. By the end of his reign, the princes had lost much of their political influence. One of the Yongle Emperor's first actions upon assuming the throne was to reorganize the military command. He promoted loyal generals and granted them titles and ranks. In October 1402, he appointed two dukes (
gong; )—the generals
Qiu Fu and Zhu Neng ()—as well as thirteen marquises (
hou; ) and nine counts (
bo; ). Among these appointments were one duke and three counts from the dignitaries who had defected to his side before the fall of Nanjing—Li Jinglong, Chen Xuan (), Ru Chang (), and Wang Zuo (). In June 1403, an additional nine generals from the civil war were appointed as marquises or counts. In the following years, meritorious military leaders from the campaign against the Mongols were also granted titles of dukes, marquises, and counts, including those of Mongolian origin. The Emperor established a new hereditary military nobility. Although their stipends from the state treasury were relatively modest (2,200–2,500
dan of grain for dukes, 800–1,500 for marquises, and around 1,000 for counts; with one
dan equal to 107 liters), the prestige attached to these titles was far more important. They commanded armies in the Emperor's name, at a time when the princes had been stripped of political influence. This nobility also enjoyed immunity from punishment by local authorities, though it differed significantly from the system of the Hongwu era. Under Hongwu, generals who had been the Emperor's comrades-in-arms held higher status, maintained personal followings, and exercised substantial regional power, which eventually posed a threat and led to their elimination. In contrast, during the Yongle era, members of the military nobility did not participate in civil or regional administration and were not assigned permanent military units. Instead, they led armies assembled on an
ad hoc basis. The Emperor frequently led campaigns in person alongside them, strengthening personal bonds. As a result, the military nobility remained closely tied to and loyal to the Emperor. There was no need for large-scale purges, and isolated punishments were due only to individual failures. Overall, this nobility enhanced imperial prestige and contributed to the military successes of the reign.
Officials and authorities The Emperor reorganized the civilian administration, gaining the support of officials who had often served under the previous government. He restored the administrative structure of the Hongwu era, while also making some changes. First and foremost, in 1402, the Grand Secretariat was created to act as an intermediary between the Emperor and the government, partially replacing the
Central Secretariat that had been abolished in 1380. Despite their informal position, the grand secretaries quickly gained dominance in the civil administration. The Grand Secretariat was established in August 1402, when the Emperor began addressing administrative affairs during working dinners with Huang Huai and Xie Jin after the evening audience. In September 1402, he appointed five additional grand secretaries. All were from the south or southeast and were well educated and experienced administrators who had previously served in lower posts under the Jianwen administration. Although their formal rank was relatively low, at most fifth rank, they were granted prestigious titles within the household of the heir apparent. Over time, the grand secretaries evolved from clerks handling correspondence into influential political figures who proposed policy solutions. Their close access to the Emperor gave them an advantage over ministers, and some even accompanied him on his campaigns against the Mongols. During this period, the empire was governed by the heir to the throne with the support of the grand secretaries and selected ministers. The heir formed a close relationship with them and became the
de facto representative of the official bureaucracy. The Yongle Emperor was careful in selecting senior officials for the state administration, including members of the Grand Secretariat and key ministers. He placed special trust in those who had supported him during the civil war, such as Jin Zhong (), Guo Zi (), Lü Zhen (), and Wu Zhong (). Although drawn from across China, these ministers were all well educated and capable administrators. Among them, the Minister of Revenue
Xia Yuanji enjoyed the Emperor's greatest confidence. Xia promoted fiscal restraint and the use of resources for the benefit of the population, earning the Emperor's respect for his integrity. Xia held office for nineteen years until 1421, when he, together with Minister of Justice Wu Zhong and Minister of War Fang Bin, opposed the costly Mongol campaign. Despite their protest, the Emperor proceeded; Fang committed suicide, while Wu and Xia were imprisoned. Following the Yongle Emperor's death, they were rehabilitated and restored to office. Other long-serving ministers included Jian Yi (), Song Li (), and Liu Quan (). Throughout most of the Yongle Emperor's reign, the leadership of four out of the Six Ministries (
Personnel,
Revenue,
Rites, and
Works) showed remarkable stability, with the same individual ministers typically heading each respective office for extended periods. Continuity in the highest offices persisted even after the Emperor's death, as many ministers continued to serve in their positions. The regular cycle of
civil service examinations also contributed to the improvement and stabilization of administration at lower levels. In the second decade of the Yongle Emperor's reign, the examinations were held every three years. A total of 1,833 individuals passed the examinations in the capital, and the majority of these graduates were appointed to government positions. The
Imperial University, which was previously responsible for selecting officials, lost its significance and became a place for candidates to study for the palace examinations. By the end of the Yongle Emperor's reign, the Ministry of Personnel had a sufficient number of examination graduates to fill important positions at the county level and above. Overall, the administration became more qualified and stable.
Eunuchs The Yongle Emperor relied heavily on eunuchs, more so than his father did. He even recruited eunuchs from the Jianwen era, with whom he had been associated during the civil war. These eunuchs came from various backgrounds, including Mongolian, Central Asian, Jurchen, and Korean. In addition to their duties within the
Forbidden City, the Yongle Emperor trusted their unwavering loyalty and often assigned them tasks outside the palace's walls, such as surveillance and intelligence gathering. Eunuchs also held positions of military command and led diplomatic missions, but their role as the Emperor's secret agents, responsible for monitoring both civilian and military officials, was well-known but also unpopular and feared. While they were known for exposing corrupt officials, they also had a reputation for abusing their power and succumbing to corruption themselves. In 1420, a special investigation office was established, informally known as the "
Eastern Depot" due to its location in the palace. This office was responsible for overseeing the judiciary, but it became infamous for its role in the disappearance of individuals. Stories of innocent imprisonment, torture, and unexplained deaths involving the office circulated until the end of the dynasty.
The imperial succession The Yongle Emperor had four sons, the first three by Empress Xu, while the fourth, Zhu Gaoxi, died in infancy. The eldest son, Zhu Gaochi, was not physically fit and instead of warfare, he focused on literature and poetry. The second son, Zhu Gaoxu, was tall and strong, a successful warrior, but the third son, Zhu Gaosui, was mediocre in character and ability. Many influential officials, including Qiu Fu, suggested that Zhu Gaoxu should be the heir to the throne. They argued for his prowess and military skills, citing his past actions of saving his father from danger and turning the tide of battles during the civil war. Grand Secretary Xie Jin disagreed and argued that the people would admire Zhu Gaochi for his humanity. He also reminded the Emperor of the future accession of
Zhu Zhanji, the Emperor's favorite grandson and Zhu Gaochi's eldest son. The Emperor eventually designated Zhu Gaochi as heir to the throne on 9 May 1404, and appointed Qiu Fu as his tutor the following day. At the same time, the Emperor appointed Zhu Gaoxu as the Prince of Han and entrusted him with control of
Yunnan. Zhu Gaosui became the Prince of Zhao, based in Beijing. Zhu Gaoxu refused to go to Yunnan, and his father gave in to his wishes, which allowed him to provoke conflicts with his older brother, Zhu Gaochi. In the spring of 1407, Zhu Gaoxu succeeded in slandering Xie Jin, who was accused of showing favoritism towards
Jiangxi natives in the examinations. As a result, Xie was transferred to the province and later imprisoned. In 1414, Grand Secretaries Huang Huai and Yang Shiqi were accused of not observing proper court ceremony, and both were imprisoned for their support of Zhu Gaochi. Yang was soon released, but Huang remained in prison until the end of the Yongle era. In 1416, Zhu Gaoxu was given a new fief in
Qingzhou Prefecture in Shandong. Once again, he refused to leave, which led his father to reprimand him. He then began to raise his own army and even had an army officer killed. As a result, his father stripped him of his titles, demoted him to a common subject, and later imprisoned him. The following year, he was deported to Shandong.
The new capital in the
Forbidden City, Beijing. The current buildings of the palace complex are the result of restorations during the
Qing dynasty, which did not significantly alter the appearance of the Ming constructions. The Yongle Emperor's most significant accomplishment was the relocation of the capital to
Beijing. The idea of moving the capital from
Nanjing (then known as Yingtian) to the north was first considered by the Hongwu Emperor in the early 1390s. Despite Nanjing's proximity to the empire's economic center in the Yangtze Delta, both the Hongwu and Yongle emperors faced the challenge of governing from a great distance from the empire's northern and western borders, which required a significant amount of attention. Additionally, as a foreigner in Nanjng, the Yongle Emperor likely felt more at home in Beijing, which served as his political base. Beijing was strategically located on the northern border, accessible by the Grand Canal and in close proximity to the sea, making it a convenient location for supplies. Its history as the capital of the
Liao,
Jin, and
Yuan dynasties also added to its significance. The relocation of the capital was a demanding undertaking that required the large-scale mobilization of people and resources from across the empire. In February 1403, the Emperor initiated the move by designating Beijing as a secondary capital and renaming it from Beiping (Pacified North) to Shuntian (Obedient to Heaven), though it remained commonly known as Beijing (Northern Capital). He appointed his eldest son, Zhu Gaochi, to administer the city and province and established branches of central ministries and chief military commissions there. In 1404, 10,000 families from Shanxi were relocated to the city, and Beijing and its surrounding areas were granted a two-year tax exemption. The following year, more than 120,000 landless households from the Yangtze Delta were moved north, and construction of government buildings began. Timber was harvested from forests in
Jiangxi,
Huguang,
Zhejiang, Shanxi, and
Sichuan to supply the palaces in Beijing. Although artisans and laborers were dispatched from across the empire, construction progressed slowly due to supply constraints. In March 1409, the Emperor arrived in the north for the first time in seven years, following the end of the first Mongol campaign. When he returned to Nanjing the following year, officials criticized the excessive expenditure on construction in Beijing, leading to reduced spending and a slowdown in construction that lasted several years. in Beijing From 1414 to the end of 1416, the Emperor remained in Beijing during the campaign in Mongolia. The reconstruction of the Grand Canal was completed in 1415, which greatly aided in the supply of the north. Construction then resumed at a faster pace. The exact number of workers involved in building the city is unknown, but it is estimated to have been several hundred thousand. The chief architects and engineers include Cai Xin (),
Nguyễn An (a Viet eunuch),
Kuai Xiang and Lu Xiang (). By the end of 1417, most of the palaces were completed, but construction on the walls continued. In 1420, the city was deemed ready for the relocation of the government. On 28 October 1420, Beijing was officially declared the principal capital of the empire, and by February 1421, ministries and other government agencies had relocated to Beijing. The Beijing authorities administered the empire from 1421. Some ministries remained in Nanjing, but their powers were limited to the southern metropolitan area and held little political significance. The cost of supplying Beijing, which was located far from the economically developed regions of the country, was a constant burden on the state treasury. In 1421, a famine broke out in the northern provinces. At the same time, three major audience halls in the newly built Forbidden City were destroyed by fire. The Emperor regarded the event as a sign of
Heaven's displeasure. In response, he called upon government officials to critique the mistakes of the government. One of the officials, a junior secretary named Xiao Yi, strongly criticized the decision to build the capital in the north and was subsequently executed. This effectively silenced any further discussion on the matter.
Grand Canal , located east of the city's historic center In the centuries before the Yongle Emperor's reign, the
Grand Canal had fallen into disrepair and was partly unusable. Early in the Yongle Emperor's rule, rice supplies to Beijing and the northern armies relied on two routes. One ran from
Liujiagang in the Yangtze Delta through the East China Sea to
Tianjin, but this sea route was dangerous because of storms and piracy. The other passed through inland rivers and canals in Anhui, Shandong, and Hubei, but required multiple transfers of cargo. Annually, 480,000 to 800,000
dan of rice were shipped by sea, while inland routes carried even more, with a total of 2 to 2.5 million
dan delivered to the north between 1410 and 1414. This inefficient system placed a heavy burden on the population. The Emperor approved a petition from officials in Shandong for the restoration of a continuous north–south waterway. The government mobilized 165,000 workers to rebuild the canal and constructed fifteen locks in western Shandong. After completion in 1415, transport became faster and cheaper. Rice shipments rose to 5 million
dan in 1417 and 4.7 million in 1418, before later stabilizing at 2–3 million annually. Transport was handled by 160,000 soldiers using 15,000 ships, while 47,000 workers maintained the canal. The reopening of the Grand Canal stimulated economic growth along its route, but also ended sea transport of grain to the north, contributing to a decline in naval shipbuilding. The reopening of the Grand Canal had a positive impact on
Suzhou. Its strategic location in the middle of the canal network south of the Yangtze (which was reconstructed after 1403) allowed the city to regain its status as a major commercial hub and experience a return to prosperity after being deprived of it during the reign of the Hongwu Emperor. Meanwhile, Nanjing's political and economic influence declined, relegating it to a regional center, but it remained the foremost cultural center of the empire.
Culture The Emperor portrayed himself as a patron of education and a model Confucian leader in order to solidify his legitimacy. He actively promoted traditional education, commissioned the compilation of Confucian classics, and declared Confucianism as the official state ideology. In 1414, he tasked scholars from the Hanlin Academy with creating a comprehensive collection of commentaries on the
Four Books and Five Classics by
Zhu Xi and other prominent Confucian thinkers of his school. This project was completed by October 1415 and became the official guide for teaching and examinations. The
Yongle Encyclopedia was the most significant and extensive collection of encyclopedias during the Yongle era. The Emperor commissioned Grand Secretary Xie Jin to compile a collection that included all known books, either partially or completely. This project involved 2,169 scholars from the Hanlin Academy and the Imperial University and took four years to complete, finishing in December 1407. The scope of the encyclopedia was vast, consisting of 22,277
juan (chapters), with the table of contents alone spanning 60
juan, but it was not published and only a few manuscripts were kept in the imperial libraries. Currently, only 700
juan have survived. This encyclopedia covered a wide range of topics and included materials from all fields of Chinese literature. Its significance lies in its contribution to the preservation of Chinese literature, as it was used by compilers in the 17th century. The
lamas from Tibet impressed the Emperor, and there were no less than two thousand Tibetan monks in Beijing, but his reverence for Buddhism had its boundaries. He only allowed his subjects to become monks to a limited extent, following the Hongwu Emperor's decree that only one man out of forty could do so. On the other hand, he promoted the spread of Buddhism among the non-Chinese peoples of the empire, but with purely political motives—to pacify conflicts and maintain peaceful rule over them. ==Foreign policy==