Interview with Emperor Yongle

Reporter: Good morning Emperor Yongle. How are you?
Yongle: Im fine. How are you?
Reporter: Swell. I'de like to start off this interview asking you about your interests. What are your interests? What do you do to China to share what you know and want other people to learn about?
Yongle: Ah yes. I enjoy writing calligraphy. I believe China should continue on the path of Confucianism so I've sponsored some literary projects. I developed a new encyclopedia called the Yongle Encyclopedia and in it, it had confucian classics and literature for scholars. Over 2,000 scholars produced over 11,000 volumes. We had planned for it to be a book but due to it's enormous size of over 50 million words it was nearly impossible. Instead we wrote the encyclopedia on 3 scrolls and 2 of them stayed in Beijing and the 3rd scroll went to Nanjing. Scholars also produced the Great Compendia which are learnings of civil service exams. Part of the book also included confucian works and the other part was Confucian writings. The Great Compendia were sold to different schools throughout the empire to educate them on days to come. As an emperor, I want my people to be well educated and respectful people and I believe I can get them there through them reading my books.
Reporter: Well I hope people get to the level you want them to be. I heard that you had a major fleet in 1405. Tell me about it.
Yongle: This fleet was extraordinarily huge. My eunuch Zheng He and 27,000 of my workers set sail in July to foreign areas. Zheng He went to foreign areas and requested them to pledge loyalty and support the Ming and in return, they would be able to trade with China. There were 62 "treasure ships" and they were filled with the finest silk, porcelain, lacquerware, and pieces of carved jade. I ordered 26,800 soldiers to guard our boats to protect us during the fleet. Our ships sailed more than 400 miles from Taiping all the way to the Indian ocean to Calicat to India. They traded books, gold, silver, pearls, rhinocaros horns, incense, medicinal herbs, and spices. We even got a giraffe. The reason for these trips were also for diplomacy. Thanks to Zheng He, we got 36 nations to agree to tributary with China. 
Reporter: Wow. You must be proud of Zheng He. I heard your ancestors also had a eunuch called Zheng He. Is there something special about this name or person? Why Zheng He?
Yongle: The name Zheng He has been with my family as early as 1273. Zheng He served as Governor of Yunnan when Kublai Khan was ruling. He was a big help for my ancestors and I. For example, he built Confucian temples and Muslim mosques', he also constructed a road across the mountains to Arabia. He has helped me improve china so much by all his work. His original name was Ma Sanbao, but was changed because he was made head of the palace eunuchs.
Reporter: I see. Before your sea exploration in 1405, the Mongols threatened to invade china. What did you do about that?
Yongle: Well my first order in business was moving the capital from Nanjing to Dadu which is a very safe place. I named the new city Beijing. The mongols kept repositioning themselvesand that was a major problem. In 1408, they ruined our Ming Expedition and due to that, that sent them beyond the Great Wall of China. Well, that didn't stop me from seeking revenge. The next year I led half a million of my soldiers into Mongolia. We defeated the Mongoles and were forced to sign a treaty and then peace was risen.
Reporter: Well Id'e like to thank you for coming and letting me interview you.
Yongle: No problem.