Jianwen Emperor

The Jianwen Emperor (5 December 1377 – 13 July 1402), personal name Zhu Yunwen, was the second emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1398 to 1402. Zhu Yunwen's father was Zhu Biao, the eldest son and heir apparent of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dynasty. Zhu Biao died in 1392, after which the Hongwu Emperor named Zhu Yunwen as his successor. Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne after the Hongwu Emperor's death in June 1398.

Upon his accession, the Jianwen Emperor immediately began revising the Hongwu Emperor's reforms, with the most significant change being the attempt to limit or eliminate the power of princes who were sons of the Hongwu Emperor. Zhu Di, the most powerful of these princes, rebelled against the Jianwen Emperor in 1399. He did this under the pretext of acting against allegedly corrupt court officials who had influenced the Emperor, following the Emperor's order for the imprisonment of Zhu Di's own followers. This sparked a civil war known as the Jingnan campaign, which Zhu Di framed as an effort to eliminate disorder. In 1402, Zhu Di captured the capital of Nanjing, and the imperial palace was burned to the ground. Even though three bodies were found at the burnt palace and were later announced to be those of the Emperor, his wife, and their eldest son, rumors of the Emperor's survival and refuge in a Buddhist monastery emerged. Zhu Di ascended the throne as the Yongle Emperor. He abolished the Jianwen Emperor's reforms and declared his reign illegitimate, thus abolishing the Jianwen era and extending the era of Hongwu to 1402. It was not until 1595 that the Jianwen Emperor's era and imperial title were restored by the Wanli Emperor.