The Daming Palace was the imperial palace complex of the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

, located in its capital

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin ...

. It served as the imperial residence of the Tang emperors for more than 220 years. Today, it is designated as a

national heritage site A national heritage site is a heritage site having a value that has been registered by a governmental agency as being of national importance to the cultural heritage or history of that country. Usually such sites are listed in a heritage registe ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, and part of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

" Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor". The area is located northeast of present-day

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqi ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

Province.

Name

The palace was originally known as ''Yong'an Palace'' but was renamed to ''Daming Palace'' in 635. In 662, after renovations to the palace, it was renamed ''Penglai Palace''. In 670, it was renamed ''Hanyuan Palace'' or ''Yuan Palace''. Eventually, in 701, the name was changed to ''Daming Palace'' again.

History

The former royal residence was the Taiji Palace (), built in the previous

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and la ...

. In 632,

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Ma Zhou Ma Zhou (601–648), courtesy name Binwang, formally the Duke of Gaotang (), was a Chinese politician who served as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Taizong in the Tang dynasty. He was initially a commoner and a guest of the general Chan ...

charged that the retired Emperor Gaozu was living in Da'an Palace () to the west, which he considered an inhospitable place as it was built on low-lying lands of

that was plagued by dampness and heat during the summer. 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. However, his father would always decline any invitation from Emperor Taizong to spend the summer together. Ever since the bloody palace coup of the

Xuanwu Gate Incident The Xuanwu Gate Incident was a palace coup for the throne of the Tang dynasty on 2 July 626, when Prince Li Shimin (Prince of Qin) and his followers assassinated Crown Prince Li Jiancheng and Prince Li Yuanji (Prince of Qi). Li Shimin, the seco ...

in 626, it seemed that father and son had drifted apart to an extent that their relationship never healed. In 634, Emperor Taizong launched the construction of the Daming Palace at Longshou Plateau. He ordered the construction of the summer palace for his retired father, Emperor Gaozu, as an act of

filial piety In Confucianism, Chinese Buddhism, and Daoist ethics, filial piety (, ''xiào'') (Latin: pietas) is a virtue of respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors. The Confucian '' Classic of Filial Piety'', thought to be written around the lat ...

. However, Emperor Gaozu grew ill and never witnessed the palace's completion before his death in 635, and construction halted thereafter. Empress Wu commissioned the court architect

Yan Liben Yan may refer to: Chinese states * Yan (state) (11th century – 222 BC), a major state in northern China during the Zhou dynasty * Yan (Han dynasty kingdom), first appearing in 206 BC * Yan (Three Kingdoms kingdom), officially claimed indep ...

to design the palace in 660 and construction commenced once again in 662. In 663, the construction of the palace was completed under the reign of Emperor Gaozong. 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, which became the new seat of the imperial court and political center of the empire.

Layout and function

Beginning from the south and ending in the north, on the central axis, stand the Hanyuan Hall, the Xuanzheng Hall, and the Zichen Hall. These halls were historically known as the "Three Great Halls" and were respectively part of the outer, middle, and inner court. The central southern entrance of the Daming Palace is the Danfeng Gate. The gate consisted of five doorways. The present site covers more than 4,800 mu, making it 3.5 times more expansive than the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is a palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples including the Zhongshan Park, the sacrifi ...

, 3 times more than

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

, and 13 times more than the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the '' Venus de Milo''. A central ...

Outer court

After passing through the Danfeng Gate, there is a square of 630 meters long with at the end the Hanyuan Hall. The Hanyuan Hall was connected to pavilions by corridors, namely the Xiangluan Pavilion in the east and the Qifeng Pavilion in the west. The pavilions were composed of three outward-extending sections of the same shape but different size that were connected by corridors. The elevated platform of the Hanyuan Hall is approximately 15 meters high, 200 meters wide, and 100 meters long. The Hanyuan Hall, where many state ceremonies were conducted, would serve as the main hall for hosting foreign ambassadors during diplomatic exchanges. File:Reconstruction Model of Hanyuan Hall of Daming Palace.jpg, Reconstruction Model of Hanyuan Hall

Middle court

The Xuanzheng Hall is located at a distance of about 300 meters north of the Hanyuan Hall. State affairs were usually conducted in this hall. 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. From this area, structured in a

Three Departments and Six Ministries The Three Departments and Six Ministries () system was the primary administrative structure in imperial China from the Sui dynasty (581–618) to the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). It was also used by Balhae (698–926) and Goryeo (918–1392) a ...

system, the

Department of State Affairs The Shangshu Sheng (), sometimes translated as the Department of State Affairs or the Imperial Secretariat, was one of the departments of the Three Departments and Six Ministries government structure. It was the primary executive institution of ...

, the Chancellery, and the

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ame ...

handled the central management of the Tang empire.

Inner court

The Zichen Hall, located in the inner court, is approximately 95 meters north of the Xuanzheng Hall. It housed the central government offices. For officials, it was considered a great honor to be summoned to the Zichen Hall. The Taiye Pool, also known as the Penglai Pool, is north of the Zichen Hall. The former gardens that surround the pond and island have been recreated, based on the historical record, with

peony The peony or paeony is a flowering plant in the genus ''Paeonia'' , the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae . Peonies are native to Asia, Europe and Western North America. Scientists differ on the number of species that can be distinguished, ...

chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums (), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants of the genus ''Chrysanthemum'' in the family Asteraceae. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia and the cent ...

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes. History Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found ...

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genu ...

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, n ...

, and

persimmon The persimmon is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus '' Diospyros''. The most widely cultivated of these is the Oriental persimmon, ''Diospyros kaki'' ''Diospyros'' is in the family Ebenaceae, and a number of non-per ...

gardens.''China Daily''.
Brief Introduction of Daming Palace National Heritage Park
. 2010. Accessed 15 November 2013. The Linde Hall is located to the west of the lake. It served as a place for banquets, performances, and religious rites. It consisted of three halls—a front, middle, and rear hall—adjacent to each other. An imperial park could be found north of the palace complex. The Sanqing Hall was located in the northeast corner the Daming Palace and served as a

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Tao ...

temple for the imperial family.

Border

The area around the palace complex grounds is currently planted with locust trees, willows, flowers, and bushes on all sides.

Heritage

The site of the Daming Palace was discovered in 1957. 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 The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republi ...

. Preventive conservation measures of the Hanyuan Hall site began in 1993. From 1994 to 1996, for the restoration and preservation of the site, numerous surveys and excavations were conducted. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) and

drew up and adopted a two-phased plan by 24 July 1995 to safeguard the Hanyuan Hall site. Work on the project started in 1995 by the joint effort of the Chinese government, Chinese and Japanese institutes, UNESCO, and various specialists. Most of the conservation work concluded in 2003. On 1 October 2010, the Daming Palace National Heritage Park was opened to the public. There are many exhibition halls located throughout the site of the palace complex to showcase the excavated cultural relics of the site.

Gallery

File:MET DP137402.jpg, ''Daming Palace'', attributed to Wang Zhenpeng (fl. 1275-1330) but likely 15th century production File:MET DP137403.jpg File:MET DP137404.jpg File:MET DP137405.jpg File:MET DP137406.jpg File:MET DP137407.jpg File:MET DP137408.jpg File:MET DP137409.jpg File:MET DP137813.jpg

References

{{authority control Archaeological museums in China Tang dynasty architecture Palaces in China Royal residences in China Buildings and structures in Xi'an National archaeological parks of China Museums in Xi'an Buildings and structures completed in 662 Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Shaanxi