Far back in the 21st century BC, the Xia, the first dynasty in China, came into being. On order of the Xia rulers, walls were built round the capital city, along with palaces in it.
 |
| Restored map of the Delin Hall in the Daming Palace of the Tang Dynasty. |
The Xia was to be replaced by the Shang Dynasty (16th century BC 11th century BC). According to historic records, before it overturned the Xia, the Shang Dynasty had moved its capital six times before it settled it in Yin (what is now Anyang City, Henan Province).Archeological excavation and textual research have resulted in the discovery that the dynasty's palace complex consists of three zones, the north, central and south, with the north and central zones probably reserved for accommodation and work of the top rulers while serving as the venues of religious and sacrificial ceremonies. Based on their study of the ruins of some 50 foundations, experts have concluded that palace structures of the Shang Dynasty must have been built on raised earthen platforms about one meter high, and that the largest structure was 80 meters long and 14.5 meters wide.
 |
| A part of the roof of a hall in the Forbidden City. |
The succeeding Zhou Dynasty (llth century BC - 256 BC) made Gao (somewhere to the southwest of Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province) its capital and then moved it to Luoyi (what is now Luoyang City, Henan Province). The two sites are yet to be excavated. According to the Artificers' Record, the sixth part of the Ritual of Zhou, the Zhou Dynasty's capital was a walled square, with three grates on each side of the wall. The palace complex was a cluster of structures in the central part of the city. The structures were in three neat rows, and in their front there were five gates.
In 221 BC, Emperor Shi Huang of the Qin Dynasty unified China. By then feudalism had established itself in China and, thanks to better developed productive forces, Emperor Shi Huang - literally meaning the "first emperor" - was able to build for himself a palace complex unprecedented in size and extravagance in the capital, Xianyang, or Xi'an of the present day. The Efang Palace, the principa
 |
| A bronze vase in the Forbidden City. It was used to hold water for fire fighting. |
l structure in the palace complex, was 150 meters wide and had a front as long as 300 meters. Round the palace there was a long corridor leading to the foot of Mt. Nanshan, a range of rolling hills presumably serving as the palace's que towers1. Construction of the palace complex was half done when the Qin Dynasty was overthrown.
Feudalism experienced its heyday during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The dynasty's capital, Chang'an (what is now Xi'an), was the world's largest city. Development of the city was painstakingly planned. The palace structures were initially in the so-called "Imperial City" that occupied the northern part of the capital. Later on, an even larger palace complex, the Daming Palace, was built outside the city.
The Daming Palace was a neat compound, with the main buildings standing at either side of its axis. In front of the Hanyuan Hall, the principal hall, there was a road
 |
| A partial view of the stone platform, in which the Forbidden City's "Three Great Halls" stand. |
leading to the main gate of the compound and, at either side of hall, there was a neat row of less important halls. The magnificence of the palace structures testified to China's might and prosperity under the Tang Dynasty.
In 1279, the Mongols set up the Yuan Dynasty, which was to reign supreme over the country until 1368. The dynasty was the first national regime set up by an ethnic minority group of China's. In following the tradition, the founding rulers of the dynasty built for themselves a palace complex in the capital, Dadu the "Great Capital" or what is now Beijing. The "Imperial City" and the "Palace City''2 were in the center of the capital. The main palace structures stood in order of bilateral symmetry, astride the north-south axis of the Palace City.
Unfortunately, none of the palace structures built under the Yuan and earlier dynasties is preserved. The Forbidden City in
 |
| The "imperial avenue" leading to the Hall of Preservation of Harmony, one of the "Three Great Halls" in the Forbidden City. |
Beijing, the largest and best-preserved palace complex in the world, was home to the imperial families of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing dynasties (1644-1911). Also well, preserved is the Qing Imperial Palace in Shenyang, northeast China, which was built before the Manchurians unified China. The Forbidden City of Beijing, however, is seen as the best example of China's palace structures.
Palace structures built under different dynasties differ in size. Meanwhile, palace structures of all dynasties have a lot in common. In the first place, such structures are independent of one another, each designed to serve a specific imperial need - for handling of state and court affairs, accommodation, rest and recreation, or conducting of religious and sacrificial activities. Secondly, these individual structures form a neat group according to stringent patriarchal rules that were passed down from one dynasty to the next. The main structures invariable sit astride the north-south axis of the palace compound, flanked by less important buildings in order of bilateral symmetry. Buildings in the frontal part of the palace compound were reserved for the handling of court affairs and the imperial living quarters were in the rear part, along with the imperial garden. Thirdly, walls surround this neat group of palace structures, forming the so-called "palace city" that normally lies in the central part of the capital city. All feudal dynasties followed this
fixed pattern in planning the plane layout of their palace complexes.
