Perpetual Happiness The Ming Emperor Yongle

0295981245. Used in trade paperback. A clean, tight copy. Minor bumping and wear to the corners and edges.; B/W Photo Plates; 8vo 8"-9" tall; 270 pages; The reign of Emperor Y [more]

0295981245. Used in trade paperback. A clean, tight copy. Minor bumping and wear to the corners and edges.; B/W Photo Plates; 8vo 8"-9" tall; 270 pages; 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, 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 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. -from the back cover.[less]