"A skillful biography of a figure who might be called China’s Peter the Great. The son of the founder of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) removed the capital to Beijing, built the Great Wall, finished the Grand Canal, and made the court bureaucracy even more powerful and efficient, all the while encouraging exploration abroad (and putting down rebellion at home)."
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Vancouver Sun
"A colorful historical biography of one of the most revered emperors of China and a vivid portrait of life during the Ming dynasty. Scholar Tsai’s lively writing will infect even non-scholarly audiences with his own evident enthusiasm for his subject."
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Publishers Weekly
"Yongle traveled with an entourage of government officials and courtiers and logistical personnel that make American presidential trips look puny—and the Emperor always took with him 10,000 cavalry soldiers and 40,000 foot soldiers. Yongle, in short, never did anything in a small way."
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Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times
"Through a judicious use of primary and secondary sources, this well-researched biographical study offers a front-row view of Yongle, perhaps the most famous of all Ming emperors, and his desires, fears, and continual search to expand and consolidate Chinese power. Tsai’s very readable work will be useful to undergraduate and graduate students and professional scholars of Chinese history."
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A. Wittenborn, Choice
"A very important contribution. Tsai has provided the most thorough and detailed study of a Chinese emperor available in English. He displays a firm grasp of the primary sources and of recent Chinese scholarship. Tsai has set a model for emulation that we can only hope will be widely followed."
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Kenneth J. Hammond, China Review International
"Tsai’s book is to be applauded for the careful research, graceful writing, and attention to details exhibited in it."
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Pi-ching Su, Journal of the American Oriental Society
