Standing statue of Confucius at Chaotian Palace 20040505

The Chaotian Palace (, lit. "Palace of Heaven Veneration"), is located in

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

, China. It was built as an imperial palace in the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

,Nanjing Municipal Museum Website
/ref> and today it is known as the Nanjing Municipal Museum. Chaotian Palace area has the largest preserved traditional Chinese architectural complex in

Jiangnan Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...

Overview

The palace is a complex of buildings, in the center of which is the Wen Temple, which was built with precious materials, including yellow glazed tile was from

Jingdezhen Jingdezhen is a prefecture-level city, in northeastern Jiangxi province, with a total population of 1,669,057 (2018), bordering Anhui to the north. It is known as the " Porcelain Capital" because it has been producing Chinese ceramics for at le ...

in Jiangxi province. It is a total of 70,000 square meters, consisting of three lines. Within the palace are more than 100,000 cultural relics.

History

The site of the palace is located on Ye Mountain, once a place for metal casting in the ancient time of State of Wu in

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 ...

, named Ye Cheng, literally the city of metallurgy, the first name of the city of Nanjing. The Imperial Central University, at the time called

Zongmingguan Nanjing University (NJU; ) is a national Public university, public research university in Nanjing, Jiangsu. It is a member of C9 League and a Class A Double First Class University Plan, Double First Class University designated by the Chinese cen ...

, was located there in

Former Song dynasty Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern Dynasty (南朝宋) in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. ...

. Chaotian Palace, or called Mingtian Palace, as a Taoist temple was originally named Ziji Palace built on the site of Zongmingguan in the era of Southern Wu, the Kingdom of Wu in the ending of

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

.明天宮今為江寧府學，楊吳時就宋總明觀舊址建紫極宮，歷宋及元，皆為道觀。逮明乃有朝天宮之名（來源：景元延佑本知常先生雲山集一卷） It was rebuilt as Chaotian Palace by the Hongwu Emperor during the early

(in late 14th century). In Ming dynasty it was used primarily by members of the royalty for "veneration of ancestors".Chaotian Palace, Nanjing, China.
Asian Oriental Architecture. Retrieved May 11, 2014. The complex was burnt down during the

Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion and civil war that was waged in China between the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Han, Hakka-led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It laste ...

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

, and the present buildings were built from 1866 to 1870 when Nanking Academy (Jiangning Fuxue) moved to the site. During the ROC rule the place became

Examination Yuan The Examination Yuan is the civil service commission branch, in charge of validating the qualification of civil servants, of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). It has a president, a vice president, and seven to nine members, al ...

, Capital High Court, Ministry of Education (once named Tahsueh Yuan), as well as Palace Museum Nanjing Branch. In the

PRC China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

it became the Nanjing Municipal Museum.

Transportation

The palace is accessible within walking distance west of Zhangfuyuan station of Nanjing Metro Line 1. Chaotian Palace is located about 1000 meters southwest to Xinjiekou, the center of Nanjing, and about 800 meters east to

Mochou Lake Mochou Lake () is located west of the Qinhuai River and Hanzhongmen Gate in Nanjing, inside Mochou Lake Park. The lake is named after Mochou, a legendary woman known for her beauty, versatility, virtue and loyalty. It was named Hengtang in ancien ...

, hedged off by Qinhuai River and linked by Jianye Road Bridge.

Notes

External links

Official website
{{Ming dynasty topics Buildings and structures in Nanjing Palaces in China Royal residences in China Ming dynasty architecture Tourist attractions in Nanjing Museums in Nanjing