Zhu Di

Zhu Di (朱棣; 1360 – 1424), the Yongle Emperor (永樂帝), was the third emperor of the Ming dynasty of China from 1402 until his death, and a secret ally of the Templar Order.

Biography

After Zhu Di became emperor in 1402, he ordered his army to round up and execute thousands of suspected Chinese Assassins, including the Assassin leader Fang Xiaoru and Li Tong's parents. He also sent the eunuch Zheng He on voyages around Asia and Africa. In 1424, while Zhu Di was trying to suppress a rebellion near the Gobi Desert, Li Tong sneaked into his tent at night and killed him, preventing him from acquiring the Apple of Eden she protected and avenging her slain family and comrades.

Behind the scenes

The Yongle Emperor is a historical figure and character first introduced in the interactive Facebook game Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Discover Your Legacy, where he is mentioned in Li Tong's entry. He later appeared in Assassin's Creed: Initiates via the database.

The Yongle Emperor's birth name is Zhū​ Dì (朱棣). His family name, Zhū (朱), refers to the color vermilion. His personal name, Dì (棣) refers to the Kerria japonica plant. Yǒng​lè (永樂) is Zhū​ Dì's era name. Historically, Chinese emperors were given posthumous names, temple names, and era names. In English, it is conventional to refer to early Chinese monarchs by their posthumous names. However, after the Tang dynasty, posthumous names became increasingly long and tedious to read and write, spanning at least seven characters. From the Tang up until the Mongol Yuan dynasty, emperors are conventionally referred to by their temple names, whereas the emperors of the last two dynasties, the Ming and Qing, are commonly referred to by their era names. Emperors of dynasties before the Ming tended to have multiple era names, which made it impractical to adopt their era names to identify them posthumously, but starting from the Ming, emperors began to adopt one era name per reign. As Zhū​ Dì's era name, Yǒng​lè is not one of his actual names, but the name of the period of his reign. Thus, it is incorrect to call him "Emperor Yongle" or even "Yongle" rather than "the Yongle Emperor" (i.e. "Emperor of the Yongle-era"). The era name Yǒng​lè (永樂) literally means "eternal joy".

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Discover Your Legacy (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Initiates (mentioned in Database entry only)