The Palace of Nine Perfections () was a summer

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

of the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

, located in Linyou in the

mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher th ...

north-west of the capital

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi ...

. The palace was built for Emperor Taizong as a renovation of the earlier Renshou palace built for the

Emperor Wen of Sui The Emperor Wen of Sui (; 21 July 541 – 13 August 604), personal name Yang Jian (), Xianbei name Puliuru Jian (), alias Narayana () deriving from Buddhist terms, was the founder and the first emperor of the Chinese Sui dynasty. The ''Book of ...

. The project was ordered in the fifth year of his reign (

631 __NOTOC__ Year 631 ( DCXXXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 631 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar er ...

) and the emperor visited each year in the summer. In the second summer (

632 __NOTOC__ Year 632 ( DCXXXII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 632 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar er ...

), he discovered a spring which was dug out and found to provide sweet water. A

stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...

was erected to record this with an inscription composed by chancellor

Wei Zheng Wei Zheng (580–643), courtesy name Xuancheng, posthumously known as Duke Wenzhen of Zheng, was a Chinese politician and historian. He served as a chancellor of the Tang dynasty for about 13 years during the reign of Emperor Taizong. He was a ...

and carved by the imperial calligrapher,

Ouyang Xun Ouyang Xun (; 557–641), courtesy name Xinben (), was a Chinese calligrapher, politician, and writer of the early Tang dynasty. He was born in Hunan, Changsha, to a family of government officials; and died in modern Anhui province. Achievements ...

. This is a famous example of his

calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

and

rubbing A rubbing ('' frottage'') is a reproduction of the texture of a surface created by placing a piece of paper or similar material over the subject and then rubbing the paper with something to deposit marks, most commonly charcoal or pencil but a ...

s are now held by several museums. The palace is also the subject of paintings and music such as "The Palace of Nine Perfections" by

Eric Ewazen Eric Ewazen (; born March 1, 1954, Cleveland, Ohio) is an American composer and teacher. Biography Ewazen studied composition under Samuel Adler, Milton Babbitt, Gunther Schuller, Joseph Schwantner, Warren Benson, and Eugene Kurtz at the Eas ...

Gallery

Yuan Jiang-the palace of nine perfections

References

{{coord missing, Shaanxi Buildings and structures in Xi'an Palaces in China Royal residences in China Tang dynasty architecture

Gallery

See also

References