Simplified Chinese 未央宫 Name Weiyang Palace Hanyu Pinyin | Traditional Chinese 未央宮 | |
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Similar Small Wild Goose Pagoda, Xingjiao Temple, Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, Shaanxi History Museum, Mount Li | ||
Literal meaning The Endless Palace | ||
View on the secret passage of weiyang palace
Weiyang Palace (simplified Chinese: 未央宫; traditional Chinese: 未央宮; pinyin: Wèiyāng Gōng) was a palace complex, located near the city of Chang'an (modern-day Xi'an). Built in 200 BC at the request of Han Gaozu, under the supervision of his prime minister Xiao He, it served as the administrative centre and imperial residence of the Western Han Dynasty, as well as the Western Jin dynasty and several other regimes during the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
Contents
- View on the secret passage of weiyang palace
- Revelation Online OST Music Soundtrack 02 Weiyang Palace
- Name
- Description
- References
The palace survived until the Tang dynasty when it was burnt down by marauding invaders en route to Tang Chang'an. This was the largest palace ever built on Earth, covering 4.8 km² (1,200 acres), which is 6.7 times the size of the current Forbidden City, or 11 times the size of the Vatican City.
Today it is located in an open field and little remains of the former palace.
Revelation Online OST Music Soundtrack - 02 - Weiyang Palace
Name
"Weiyang" (未央) literally means "(something) hasn't reached its midpoint", "has more than a half to go", but colloquially it's translated as "endless", which is probably what the name is actually alluding to. Together with the name of Changle Palace(長樂宮, perpetual happiness), which was built 2 years before, it can be interpreted to mean, "The perpetual happiness hasn't reached its midpoint yet."
Description
Weiyang palace was sited to the southwest of Han Dynasty Chang'an and is therefore also called the Western Palace (西宫). Surrounded by walls, the palace complex was rectangular, with a length of 2,150 metres east-west and 2,250 metres north-south. Each side of the walls had a single main gate, with the eastern and northern gates (facing Chang'an city) built with gate towers.
Major architectures within the palace include: