Jingnan campaign

Jingnan campaign

Map showing the Jingnan campaign
Date8 August 1399 – 13 July 1402
Location
Result

Yan victory

  • Yan armies captured Nanjing and seized the Ming government
  • Disappearance of the Jianwen Emperor
  • Accession of Zhu Di to the throne as the Yongle Emperor
Belligerents
Princedom of Yan
Princedom of Ning
Ming central government
Commanders and leaders
Zhu Di, Prince of Yan
Zhu Gaochi, Hereditary Prince of Yan
Zhu Gaoxu, Prince of Gaoyang Comm.
Zhu Gaosui
Yao Guangxiao
Qiu Fu
Zhu Neng
Zhang Yu 
Zhang Fu
Zheng He
Zhu Quan, Prince of Ning
Three Guards of Doyan
Zhu Yunwen, the Jianwen Emperor (MIA)
Geng Bingwen
Tie Xuan Executed
Li Jinglong Surrendered
Xu Huizu
Qi Tai Executed
Huang Zicheng Executed
Fang Xiaoru Executed
Sheng Yong Surrendered
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese靖難之役
Simplified Chinese靖难之役
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinJìngnàn zhīyì
Jingnan rebellion
Traditional Chinese靖難之變
Simplified Chinese靖难之变
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinJìngnàn zhībiàn

The Jingnan campaign, or the campaign to clear away disorders, was a propagandistic term used by the victorious side to refer to the civil war that took place between 1399 and 1402 in the Ming dynasty. This conflict was between the Ming government, led by the second Ming emperor, the Jianwen Emperor, and his uncle, Zhu Di, Prince of Yan. The war was sparked by the removal of the emperor's uncles and the restriction of Zhu Di's power by the central government after the Jianwen Emperor ascended to the throne in 1398. In 1399, Zhu Di rebelled under the guise of restoring order and the rights of the princes. After three years of fighting, he successfully conquered the capital of Nanjing in June 1402, while the emperor and his family were likely killed in the palace fire. This marked the end of the war.

Soon after, Zhu Di ascended to the throne as the third emperor of the Ming dynasty. Upon assuming power, he made efforts to erase the legacy of the Jianwen Emperor by removing his supporters from positions of authority and reversing his reforms. Despite initially rebelling in the name of protecting the rights of the princes, Zhu Di adopted a similar oppressive stance towards them as the Jianwen Emperor and gradually stripped them of their political influence.