The Deer Terrace Pavilion () was a structure believed to have been built during the

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty a ...

. Its location was believed to be in

Zhaoge Zhaoge () was the last of a series of cities that served as capital of the Shang dynasty, and later capital of State of Wey (衛國). It is located in current Qi County, Hebi, Henan about 50 km south of Anyang. See also *Yinxu Yinxu (modern ; ...

(near the present-day Jinniuling mountain ridge in

Qi County, Hebi Qi County or Qixian () is a county in the north of Henan province, China. It is under the administration of the Hebi city. Qi County is the location of Zhaoge, the former capital of the Shang Dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the ...

). It was also the site of a very luxurious pool, named the "Lake of Wine and Forest of Meat" (), where meat would be hung alongside the pool, and the pool would be filled with wine all for the personal pleasure of

King Zhou of Shang King Zhou (; ) was the pejorative posthumous name given to Di Xin of Shang () or King Shou of Shang (), the last king of the Shang dynasty of ancient China. He is also called Zhou Xin (). In Chinese, his name Zhòu ( 紂) also refers to a horse c ...

. The phrase (''Jiǔchí Ròulín'') is now a

Chinese idiom ''Chengyu'' () are a type of traditional Chinese idiomatic expression, most of which consist of four characters. ''Chengyu'' were widely used in Classical Chinese and are still common in vernacular Chinese writing and in the spoken language ...

for excessive extravagance and debauchery. In 1999, the pool was uncovered in an archaeological survey. The pool is long, wide, and deep. The archaeologists concluded that contrary to the theory that the pool's real purpose was to provide groundwater for the pavilion, the existence of contemporary water wells close to the pool proves that the primary function of the pool was not to supply water. On 20 January 1046 BC, King Wu of Zhou launched a violent attack on the Shang capital,

, as part of the

Battle of Muye The Battle of Muye () or Battle of the Mu was a battle fought in ancient China between the rebel Zhou state and the reigning Shang dynasty. The Zhou army, led by Wu of Zhou, defeated the defending army of King Di Xin of Shang at Muye and capt ...

. Zhou quickly defeated Shang, and the last king of Shang, King Zhou, retreated to the pavilion and set it on fire, burning it and himself along with his jewels as the result of the defeat. This event marked the end of the

and the beginning of the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by th ...

. The charred remains of the pavilion have yet to be identified.

References

Shang dynasty 11th century BC in China {{China-struct-stub