With the progress of the warring states period (475-221 B. C.E.) and the unification of China under the first emperor, qin shihuangdi (259-210 b. c.e.), the nature of the palace changed from indicating mystery to projecting might. The establishment of large and powerful states created a demand for monumentality, and the new cities that sprang up during the Warring states period had their own precinct to house the royal palace and associated buildings. These new palaces were raised on a structure known as a tai, a high earth platform the size of which projected the image of royal power. Xu Wan, the minister of the king of WEI, found it necessary to remind his sovereign, who nurtured the ambition to build a tai halfway to heaven, that this would require his conquering all the neighboring states simply to obtain a sufficient area of land for the foundations.
LINZI was the capital of the state of QI, which dominated shandong province during the Warring states period. The palace there was raised up on a high mound that still stands 14 meters above its surroundings. This building and its associated temples occupied a special walled enclave in the southwestern part of the city. The palace platform was known as the platform of the duke Huan. At Xiadu, capital of the remote northwestern state of YAN in Hebei province, the palace stood atop a mighty raised mound that is still 20 meters high above the rest of the city, handan in the state of Zhao also included raised platforms to elevate the palace well above the surrounding cityscape. By building an earth platform and constructing terraced pavilions against it, it also became feasible to make a palace appear much larger and more impressive than it actually was.
Indeed, the labor required to construct such vast platforms engendered a critical literature. one such platform in the state of Wei was called the platform that reaches half way to heaven, and there are numerous references in historical sources to rulers using the magnitude of their palaces to symbolize and project their power. This is seen in the creation of a new capital at xianyang by SHANG YANG (d. 338 B. C.E.), the great reformer of the state of Qin. He set aside the traditional task in construction of a new foundation—building the ancestral temple—and rather had a new palace, known as the Jique, built. This was a major innovation: The name translates as posting a royal order on the gate tower, and it emphasizes the new administrative and legal reforms that shang Yang was to promulgate. The Jique palace is a monumental structure built around its earthen core. There are three stories, the lowest fronted by a long verandah supported by a row of 38 columns. Above the verandah rise two sets of chambers that in section are a mirror image of each other. Excavations there have uncovered a rich assemblage of decorated floor tiles bearing geometric motifs and painted plastered walls. These include images of elegant court women and a chariot drawn by four horses. This was but the first of many palaces built at Xianyang over the ensuing century, culminating in the victory of Qin over its rivals and the creation of the first Chinese empire under Qin shihuangdi.
World History
