What was the capital of the Ming dynasty after 1421?

After 1421, Beijing was the primary capital of the Ming dynasty. The Yongle Emperor moved the imperial government there from Nanjing after a vast building program that included the Forbidden City.

Beijing had previously been known as Beiping, meaning “Northern Peace.” In 1403, the Yongle Emperor selected it as his secondary capital and renamed it Shuntian. Construction of the new imperial palace and government complex began in 1406, and the court formally moved north in 1421.

Nanjing did not cease to matter. It remained the Southern Capital and retained many central institutions, but Beijing became the emperor’s principal seat and the center of national administration. This is why Nanjing is a tempting but incorrect answer for the period after 1421.

The decision also reflected the emperor’s northern power base and the strategic importance of defending the empire’s frontier. Beijing remained the main Ming capital for nearly the rest of the dynasty, although a brief 1425 order to return the court to Nanjing was never implemented.