Page 461 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

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Gilt bronze striding dragon large lake, have been found within the walls of this
imperial park. Among the most important are the
Height 10.8 (4 'A), length 18 (7) Hanyuan dian (Hall of enclosing the Primal Breath),
Tang Dynasty, first half of the eighth century CE
whose pounded-earth foundations still stand to a
From Xi'an, Shaanxi Province
height of up to fifteen meters, affording a view
Xi'an Municipal Institute of Archaeology and south over the entire city; the Sanqing dian (Hall of
Preservation of Cultural Relics, Shaanxi Province three purities), where the court conducted Daoist
ceremonies; and the Linde dian (Hall of auspicious
Houston and San Francisco only virtue).
Built in 634, the Darning Palace assumed partic-
By the Tang dynasty (618-907 CE), the dragon — ular importance after 660 under Emperor Gaozong
long connected with immortals and Daoism — had and Empress Wu Zetian, who had it repaired in 662
become a symbol of the emperor. All three associa- and briefly called it the Penglai (Paradise) Palace.
tions are particularly appropriate in the case of this Official events and government activities began to
gilt-bronze striding dragon, found on the site of the take place there, rather than in the Taiji Palace —
1
Darning Palace, an area of more than three square the original seat of power, situated within the
kilometers lying just outside the north wall of the Palace City at the northern end of the main axis of
ancient capital of Chang'an (present-day Xi'an). The the capital. The Linde dian, eleven bays wide, was
remains of more than forty buildings, as well as a used for banquets and for receiving foreign delega-

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