Zhu Di, Emperor Chengzu, is the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the fourth son of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Dynasty. Born in 1360 and died in 1424, Emperor Chengzu created a flourishing age in the early Ming Dynasty, yet he loved to brag and showed off. All in all, as an emperor, his achievements outweigh his errors.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang granted Beijing to Zhu Di, who was entitled Seignior Yan. After the death of Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Yunwen, Emperor Jianwen, adopted centralism policy to weaken the power of Seigniors. Therefore, Zhu Di launched War against other successors of the first Ming Emperor in July 1399, conquered Nanjing, and then usurped the throne. Later he changed the reign title as Yongle.

Zhu Di launched five wars against Mongolia in the north during his reign, which eased Mongolia’s threat to the border areas of the Ming Dynasty. He dredged the Grand Canal, relocated the Capital to Beijing and constructed the Forbidden City. As the first Han Emperor that made Beijing the Capital, he established the status of Beijing as Capital City in the following 500 years. By way of appeasing, he brought ethnic minorities in the northeast under control, maintaining stability in the border areas. He collected, sorted and classified ancient books, and organized scholars to compile an encyclopedia called Yongle Canon with 370 million characters. The encyclopedia is known as the top of its kind.

Zhu Di is even more famous for commanding Zheng He to sail to the Atlantic. Zheng He had conducted seven voyages, the furthest of which reached as far as the east coast of Africa. The voyages have strengthened ties among China and Southeast Asia countries, and coastal countries along the Indus River.