Perpetual Happiness: The Ming Emperor Yongle

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). Yongle was the force behind construction of the Forbidden City, home to himself and the 22 later emperors. -Vancouver Sun