Daming Palace | |||||||
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The Daming Palace northeast of the capital city Chang'an | |||||||
Traditional Chinese | 大明宮 | ||||||
Simplified Chinese | 大明宫 | ||||||
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Daming Palace National Heritage Park | |||||||
Traditional Chinese | 大明宮國家遺址公園 | ||||||
Simplified Chinese | 大明宫国家遗址公园 | ||||||
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The Daming Palace was the imperial palace complex of the Tang Dynasty, located in its capital Chang'an. It served as the imperial residence of the Tang emperors for more than 220 years.[1] Today, it is designated as a national heritage site of China.[2] The area is located northeast of present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi Province.[3]
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The palace was originally known as Yong'an Palace, but was renamed to Daming Palace in 635.[4][5] In 662, after renovations to the palace, it was renamed to Penglai Palace.[4][5] In 670, it was named to Yuan Palace[4] or Hanyuan Palace.[5] Eventually, in 701, the name of the palace became Daming Palace again.[4][5]
In 634, Emperor Taizong launched the construction of the Daming Palace at Longshou Plateau.[6][7] He ordered the construction of the palace for his retired farther, Emperor Gaozu, as an act of filial piety.[8] However, Emperor Gaozu never bore witnessed to the palace's completion before his death in 635, so construction halted thereafter. Construction commenced once again in 662 after Empress Wu commissioned the imperial architect Yan Liben to design the palace in 660.[8] In 663, the construction of the palace was completed under the reign of Emperor Gaozong.[9] Emperor Gaozong had launched the extension of the palace with the construction of the Hanyuan Hall in 662, which was finished in 663. The Daming Palace would become the seat of the imperial court the very same year of its completion,[5] eventually becoming the political center of the empire.[10]
Beginning from the south and ending in the north, on the central axis, stand the Hanyuan Hall, the Xuanzheng Hall, and the Zihuan Hall.[4] These halls were historically known as the "Three Great Halls" and were respectively the outer, middle, and inner court.[4] The central southern entrance of the Daming Palace is the Danfeng Gate.
The Hanyuan Hall was connected to pavilions by corridors, namely the Xiangluan Pavilion in the east and the Qifeng Pavilion in the west.[4][11] The pavilions were composed of three outward-extending sections of the same shape but different size that were connected by corridors.[11] The elevated platform of the Hanyuan Hall is approximately 15 meters high, 200 meters wide, and 100 meters long.[3] The Hanyuan Hall, where many state ceremonies were conducted, would serve as the main hall for hosting foreign ambassadors during diplomatic exchanges.[3]
The Xuanzheng Hall is located at a distance of about 300 meters north of the Hanyuan Hall.[4] To the north of the Xuanzheng hall was the Zichen Hall, which housed the ministry offices.[12]
The Zihuan Hall is approximately 95 meters north of the Xuanzheng Hall.[4] The Taiye Pond was located in the inner court and the Linde Hall was located to the west of the pond.[12] Linde Hall served as a place for banquets, performances, and religious rites.[13] It consisted of three halls — a front, middle, and rear hall — adjacent to eachother.[13] An imperial park could be found further north of the palace complex.[12] The Sanqing Hall was located in the northeast corner the Daming Palace and served as a Taoist temple for the imperial family.[12]
The site of the Daming Palace was discovered in 1957.[14] Between 1959 to 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.[11]
Preventive conservation measures of the Hanyuan Hall site began in 1993.[3] From 1994 to 1996, for the restoration and preservation of the site, numerous surveys and excavations were conducted.[11]
The State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) drew up and adopted a two-phased plan by 24 July 1995 to safeguard the Hanyuan Hall site.[3][14] Work on the project started in 1995 by the joint effort of the Chinese government, Chinese and Japanese institutes, UNESCO, and various specialists.[15] Most of the conservation work concluded in 2003.[3][15]
There are many exhibition halls located throughout the renovated palace complex to showcase the excavated cultural relics of the site.[4]