The Magnificent Xianyang Palace: Harmony Between Man and Nature

Li Kai

Li Kai is an associate professor and a doctor of history at the School of History， Beijing Normal University， and his research orientation is Ancient Chinese History.

Taking the palaces in the Qin and Han dynasties as the context， this book restores the original appearance of nearly twenty palaces in history that have disappeared and tells the story about each of them. With the development of stories， the historical events that took place in each palace are recovered. Readers can get in touch with the figures who used to be here and witness their joys and sorrows.

Palaces That Disappeared

（Qin and Han Dynasties）

Li Kai

The Oriental Press

September 2022

68.00 （CNY）

The ambitious rulers of the Qin State regarded Xianyang as the best choice for their capital. They began to build palaces in Xianyang and improved the city’s construction step by step， with the royal court as the core. A unique and magnificent urban layout was gradually formed. Since then， the Qin people had never moved their capital. Xianyang city carried their ambition to begin a great cause. According to archaeological data， Yueyang， the old capital of Qin， built its base from flat， loose land. Its layout was much worse than that of Xianyang city， and it was obviously a temporary capital.

In comparison， as the Qin State became stronger and expanded gradually， the palaces in Xianyang represented a harmonious pattern of man and nature and were filled with mysteries of stars， the universe， and nature. When Duke Xiao of Qin first built Xianyang city， he focused on the construction of Jique and the royal court. The gorgeous palaces standing high in Xianyang city and the Jique in front of them best express the majesty of the Qin royal court. What kind of building is Jique？ Why was it so important to the political life of the Qin State？

According to The Historical Records： Biography of Prince Shang， “Palaces and Jique were built in Xianyang.” Sima Zhen of the Tang Dynasty interpreted that Jique is Weique. What is Weique？ It is the high building on the tower we can see today in front of the ancient palaces. For example， at the Meridian Gate of the Palace Museum， there is a tower on the left and one on the right. Why is it called Jique？ Ji means recording， as all the “issued imperial decrees” should be recorded here. In other words， all the decrees issued by the ruling circle should be declared to ordinary people here. They should be issued on notice or in other forms. Therefore， this place was very important to the political life of a state. Books of the Ming and Qing dynasties recorded the allusion to “the golden phoenix issues the imperial edict.” Tian’anmen was an important place where “the golden phoenix issues the imperial edict.” In the Ming and Qing dynasties， emperors held ceremonies of “issuing the imperial edict” here when a national celebration was held， a new emperor ascended the throne， or an empress was appointed. At that time， a platform for declaring the imperial edict was set up in front of the tower hall. The Minister of Rituals respectfully received the imperial edict from the emperor at the Hall of Supreme Harmony of the Forbidden City and laid it in the dragon pavilion carried by official guards. The minister went out of the Meridian Gate and mounted the Tian’anmen Tower. Then， he reverently put the imperial edict on the platform， and the declaring official would read the imperial edict. Civil and military officials stood in order according to their ranks to the south of Jinshui Bridge. They knelt facing the north and listened respectfully. After the imperial edict was declared， the official put it in the beak of a wood-carved golden phoenix， tied it to a yellow velvet rope and laid it downwards. Officials of Rituals knelt with a tray to receive the edict. Then， they carried the imperial edict in the dragon pavilion to the Board of Rites， transcribed it onto yellow paper， and distributed them around the state. This process is called “the golden phoenix issues the imperial edict.” In today’s words， it has a strong sense of ceremony. This is the “ceremony of issuing the imperial edict” in the Ming and Qing dynasties， which shows the supremacy of the imperial power from its scale. We don’t know whether the Qin State during the Shang Yang period held such ceremonies， but we can appreciate the supreme imperial power from the construction of Jique. The “Jique” site is magnificently decorated， occupying a commanding position and looking solemn. When Qin Shihuang burned classics and buried Confucian scholars， he put forward the saying of “only learning from imperial edicts and government officials”， which had been proposed by Li Si. It means that if ordinary people wanted to learn knowledge， they could learn imperial edicts and executive orders of the state; if they needed a teacher， they should learn from a government official. Many scholars regard this means as very old， dating back to the Qin State and even an earlier age. It can be seen that the state attached great importance to imperial edict， and Jique is a microcosm.

In Xianyang palaces constructed under the supervision of Shang Yang， many palaces were connected， forming a luxurious and magnificent palace complex. Archaeologists excavated a large number of cultural relics here， including more than 400 pieces of mural remains and more than 70 kinds of inscriptions on pottery. From these objects， we can guess the scale when the capital was built.

Xianyang Palace is composed of a huge building complex， including the No. 1， 2 and 3 palace sites unearthed by archaeologists. The No. 1 Palace Site， the most famous one， is a civil engineering structure， and its plane is rectangular and curved. It is a high-rise attic building where the lighting and drainage of each room are reasonably arranged. Besides， palaces of various functions are concentrated in one space. Thus， it has a compact structure， a well-arranged layout， and perfect functions. Many red ores were found in its halls and on the ground， consistent with literature records.

Interestingly， there is a circular “thick column” in the center of the palace; that is， the column rises from the ground center and connects to the tip of the building. The Historical Records · Biographies of Assassins records the story of Jing Ke assassinating the king of Qin. At that time， Jing Ke was dressed up as an emissary and had passed the security check at the entrance. Without the king’s approval， people could not take any small weapons to the palace. Neither Zheng （the king of Qin） nor his ministers had expected the killer to come. Everyone at the scene was shocked by the sudden assassin.

Moreover， the ministers had no weapons， and the guards were only allowed to enter on with the king’s order， so they could do nothing. The king of Qin， threatened by Jing Ke， paced about in an agitated state of mind. Fortunately， he was agile and “ran around the column.” This column was possibly the tall， thick one because it is so eye-catching. Finally， someone suggested： “King， you are carrying a sword！” Then Zheng drew and stabbed Jing Ke’s thigh. Jing Ke fell down. He raised his dagger to hit the king. However， he only hit the column and was killed at last. The column played a key role. It was a buffer between Jing Ke and Zheng and was hit instead of Zheng. （Perhaps Jing Ke’s dagger hit another column.） Of course， this story might take place in Zhangtai Palace， where the king met vassals. Neverthless， this high palace has a column， which plays a key role in supporting the palace and portrays the dignified palace.

The No. 2 Palace is situated to the northwest of the No. 1 Palace. It is also a multi-story attic building， with a civil engineering structure and the rammed platform as the center. It has complete functions： the palace on the platform is the main body， a circle of winding corridors is built on the platform， and there are bathrooms under the east and west corridors. There are also vertical pipes for inserting flagpoles. This was probably a place to handle government affairs in Xianyang Palace. Similar to the Palace of Heavenly Purity in the Palace Museum， it is also full of rituals.

The No. 3 Palace is situated to the southwest of the No. 1 Palace. It looks like a fish ridge： long from north to south， narrow from east to west， high in the middle， and low on both sides. A large number of murals have been unearthed from here， including paintings about the travel of carriages and horses， processions， buildings， ears of wheat， etc. They are very beautifully sketched. The background is painted with powder， and the key areas are rendered. It represents a high level of painting and makes up the gap in the art history of China. They are the earliest murals in ancient China， which confirm the records in the history books that there were murals in ancient Chinese buildings. For example， the “Picture Room” is mentioned in the bronze inscriptions of the Western Zhou Dynasty. People have long known that there are carved beams and painted rafters in classics， but what are they like？ People don’t know， but the No. 3 Palace site in Xianyang Palace of the Qin State greatly enriches people’s knowledge.