The palace was originally known as Yong'an Palace but was renamed to Daming Palace in 635.[8][9] In 662,after renovations to the palace,it was renamed Penglai Palace.[8][9] In 670,it was renamed Hanyuan Palace[9] or Yuan Palace.[8] Eventually,in 701,the name was changed to Daming Palace again.[8][9]
History
The former royal residence was the Taiji Palace (太極宮),built in the previous Sui dynasty.[10]
In 632,chancellorMa Zhou charged that the retired Emperor Gaozu was living in Da'an Palace (大安宮) to the west,which he considered an inhospitable place as it was built on low-lying lands of Chang'an that was plagued by dampness and heat during the summer.[11] According to him,ever since Emperor Taizong moved to the countryside during the summers,his retired father was left behind in Chang'an to suffer in the summer heat.[11] However,his father would always decline any invitation from Emperor Taizong to spend the summer together.[11] Ever since the bloody palace coup of the Xuanwu Gate Incident in 626,it seemed that father and son had drifted apart to an extent that their relationship never healed.[11]
In 634,Emperor Taizong launched the construction of the Daming Palace at Longshou Plateau.[12][13] He ordered the construction of the summer palace for his retired father,Emperor Gaozu,as an act of filial piety.[14] However,Emperor Gaozu grew ill and never witnessed the palace's completion before his death in 635,[11] and construction halted thereafter.
Empress Wu commissioned the court architect Yan Liben to design the palace in 660 and construction commenced once again in 662.[14] In 663,the construction of the palace was completed under the reign of Emperor Gaozong.[15] Emperor Gaozong had launched the extension of the palace with the construction of the Hanyuan Hall in 662,which was finished in 663. On 5 June 663,the imperial family began to relocate from the Taiji Palace into the yet to be completed Daming Palace,[16] which became the new seat of the imperial court and political center of the empire.[9][16][17]
Layout and function
Map of ruins
Beginning from the south and ending in the north,on the central axis,stand the Hanyuan Hall,the Xuanzheng Hall,and the Zichen Hall.[8] These halls were historically known as the "Three Great Halls" and were respectively part of the outer,middle,and inner court.[8] The central southern entrance of the Daming Palace is the Danfeng Gate.[1] The gate consisted of five doorways.[18]
The present site covers more than 4,800 mu,making it 3.5 times more expansive than the Forbidden City,3 times more than Versailles,and 13 times more than the Louvre.[19]
Outer court
After passing through the Danfeng Gate,there is a square of 630 metres (2,070ft) long with at the end the Hanyuan Hall.[20] The Hanyuan Hall was connected to pavilions by corridors,namely the Xiangluan Pavilion in the east and the Qifeng Pavilion in the west.[8][21] The pavilions were composed of three outward-extending sections of the same shape but different size that were connected by corridors.[21] The elevated platform of the Hanyuan Hall is approximately 15 metres (49ft) high,200 metres (660ft) wide,and 100 metres (330ft) long.[7] The Hanyuan Hall,where many state ceremonies were conducted,would serve as the main hall for hosting foreign ambassadors during diplomatic exchanges.[7]
Reconstruction model of Hanyuan Hall
Hanyuan Hall's platform
Hanyuan Hall's platform
Middle court
The Xuanzheng Hall is located at a distance of about 300 metres (980ft) north of the Hanyuan Hall.[8] State affairs were usually conducted in this hall.[22] The office of the secretariat was located to the west of the Xuanzheng Hall and the office of the chancellery was located to the east.[23] From this area,structured in a Three Departments and Six Ministries system,the Department of State Affairs,the Chancellery,and the Secretariat handled the central management of the Tang empire.[23]
Inner court
The Zichen Hall,located in the inner court,[23] is approximately 95 metres (312ft) north of the Xuanzheng Hall.[8] It housed the central government offices.[24] For officials,it was considered a great honor to be summoned to the Zichen Hall.[23] The Taiye Pool,also known as the Penglai Pool,is north of the Zichen Hall.[25] The former gardens that surround the pond and island have been recreated,based on the historical record,with peony,chrysanthemum,plum,rose,bamboo,almond,peach,and persimmon gardens.[26]
The Linde Hall is located to the west of the lake.[24] It served as a place for banquets,performances,and religious rites.[27] It consisted of three halls—a front,middle,and rear hall—adjacent to each other.[27] An imperial park could be found north of the palace complex.[24] The Sanqing Hall was located in the northeast corner the Daming Palace and served as a Taoist temple for the imperial family.[24][25]
Model of the Linde Hall
Linde Hall's platform
Border
The area around the palace complex grounds is currently planted with locust trees,willows,flowers,and bushes on all sides.[26]
Heritage
Stone inscription discovered in 1956 that commemorates the building of the Hanguang Hall (含光殿) and a polo field in the Daming Palace in 831.
The site of the Daming Palace was discovered in 1957.[28] Between 1959 and 1960,the earliest surveys and excavations of the Hanyuan Hall site were carried out by the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.[21]
Preventive conservation measures of the Hanyuan Hall site began in 1993.[7] From 1994 to 1996,for the restoration and preservation of the site,numerous surveys and excavations were conducted.[21] The State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) and UNESCO drew up and adopted a two-phased plan by 24 July 1995 to safeguard the Hanyuan Hall site.[7][28] Work on the project started in 1995 by the joint effort of the Chinese government,Chinese and Japanese institutes,UNESCO,and various specialists.[29] Most of the conservation work concluded in 2003.[7][29]
On 1 October 2010,the Daming Palace National Heritage Park was opened to the public.[30] There are many exhibition halls located throughout the site of the palace complex to showcase the excavated cultural relics of the site.[8]
Gallery
Daming Palace,attributed to Wang Zhenpeng (fl. 1275-1330) but likely 15th century production
See also
Huang Chao,whose revolt caused the destruction of the palatial complex
↑ Wang, Tao; Shao, Lei (2010). "Eco-city: China's realities and challenges in urban planning and design". In Lye, Liang Fook; Chen, Gang (eds.). Towards a liveable and sustainable urban environment: Eco-cities in East Asia. Singapore: World Scientific. p.149. ISBN978-981-4287-76-0.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Du, Xiaofan (2010). Agnew, Neville (ed.). Conservation of ancient sites on the Silk Road. Hellman, Naomi (trans.). Los Angeles: Getty Conservation Institute. p.37. ISBN978-1-60606-013-1.
1 2 3 4 5 Wenchsler, Howard J. (1979). "The founding of the T'ang dynasty: Kao-tsu (reign 618–26)". The Cambridge history of China, Volume 3: Sui and T'ang China, 589–906, Part 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p.186. ISBN0-521-21446-7.
↑ Chen, Jack W. (2010). The poetics of sovereignty: On Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center. p.275. ISBN978-0-674-05608-4.
↑ Kiang, Heng Chye (1999). Cities of aristocrats and bureaucrats: The development of medieval Chinese cityscapes. Singapore: Singapore University Press. p.7. ISBN978-9971-69-223-0.
↑ Fuller, Michael A. (1990). The road to East Slope: The development of Su Shi's poetic voice. Stanford: Stanford University Press. p.30. ISBN978-0-8047-1587-4.
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