Sqin'-lang Palace: Difference between revisions
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==Name== | ==Name== | ||
Inscriptions dating to the beginning of the Common Era bear the name '' | Inscriptions dating to the beginning of the Common Era bear the name ''sqin'-lang-tkung'' (顯昜宫), which is usually intepreted as the name of the palace written in monumental style, without determinatives and in more archaic forms. The word ''sqin''' < [[Old Meng]] *sqinʔ meant "appear, visible, renown" depending on context, and ''lang'' "brightness, warmth". ''kung'' < ''tkung'' meant palace and is found in the names of other palaces. The name of the whole palace thus may have meant "the palace of renowned warmth". | ||
However, it is usually not thought that the current palace bearing this name was referred to using this name; rather, an older palace was also named thus. From texts dating to the 3rd century, the term "old Sqin'-lang" appears, implying an older palace of the same name whose location is now uncertain. | |||
==Geography== | ==Geography== | ||
Revision as of 23:57, 21 June 2023
The Sqint-lang Palace (Shinasthana: 顯陽宮, sqint-lang-kung) a royal palace located in the Kien-k'ang citadel and the seat of the Themiclesian Emperor. It contains the Court Hall where the Government sits, both houses of Parliament, and the grounds of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal.
Name
Inscriptions dating to the beginning of the Common Era bear the name sqin'-lang-tkung (顯昜宫), which is usually intepreted as the name of the palace written in monumental style, without determinatives and in more archaic forms. The word sqin' < Old Meng *sqinʔ meant "appear, visible, renown" depending on context, and lang "brightness, warmth". kung < tkung meant palace and is found in the names of other palaces. The name of the whole palace thus may have meant "the palace of renowned warmth".
However, it is usually not thought that the current palace bearing this name was referred to using this name; rather, an older palace was also named thus. From texts dating to the 3rd century, the term "old Sqin'-lang" appears, implying an older palace of the same name whose location is now uncertain.
Geography
The Sqint-lang Palace is situated around half-way on the northern walls of the Citadel of Kien-k'ang. The palace forms a trapzoid very close to rectangular, with its two shorter sides measuring 1.73 km, and longer sides 1.81 km; the north-south axis points to 22° NNE. The north side of the palace is 1.76 m longer than the south; this appears to be a technical error, as almost all texts state the palace is built to be exactly rectangular. The grounds of the palace decline slightly towards the north, with several slight natural humps that were subsequently converted into daises.
Outer palace
The outer palace is bound by the outer walls (宮垣, kung-ghwyar), which are 18 – 20 m in thickness in the base, with a rammed earth core and masonry surface. The top of the walls, which are covered by a roof, tapers to around 12 m in width. The outer walls are punctuated by five gates, the southwestern and main gate Tlang-mkap-men, southeastern gate Nem-lak-men, eastern gate Twang-lak-men, western gate Sner-lak-men, and nothern gate Pek-lak-men. The Tlang-mkap-men gate, with three gateways, is the widest and is inset into the outer walls, forming an courtyard closed on three sides about 60 m each. Other gates have one gateway each. All gates have gatehouses over the gateways. The outer walls are some of the oldest parts of the palace, certain parts dating to the 4th century. This is probably because such walls, once built, are very laborious to dismantle and re-erect at another place.
Within the outer walls are several public and institutional areas. The southwestern corner of the palace is a public park called the Guards-Marshal's Ground. It was once used as a garrison for the Royal Guards (衛士), but it has been converted into a public park since the 1950s.
Inner palace
The inner palace, as a traditional area, is delimited by the inner walls (內垣, nup-ghwyar). It contains the several halls previously occupied by royalty and more important departments. The walls themselves are more symbolic, only 4 m in thickness and constructed somewhat later than the outer walls, connecting the edges of several existing courtyards in the palace. Its gates are called the Parking Gates (止車門, te-kla-men) because, before the modern era, all horses and vehicles were to be parked at this gate, with the exception of royalty, select aristocrats, and those with special permission. There are seven Parking Gates, two in each cardinal direction except in the north. They each rest upon a dais with staircases leading up to it, reinforcing the idea that mounted entry is forbidden.
Modern buildings
Little Crystal Palace
In the southwestern corner of the palace, on the site of the quarters of the Royal Guards, a copy of the renowned Crystal Palace in Anglia was commissioned by Lord Tl'jang-mjen's government in 1876 and completed in 1878. The copy was exactly half the original in each dimension, but it was meant to stand as a permanent building rather than a temporary exhibition space, like the original. The building, soon nicknamed "Little Crystal Palace" (小水晶宮), hosted the National Trade Exhibition that Sng′rja′s government began in 1872. Emperor Men, who personally saw the Crystal Palace in New Hadaway in 1857, encouraged the building's styling, telling the engineers he would be visiting to see "how similar it is to the original."
The Little Crystal Palace was originally maintained by public funds, but in 1880 it was leased to a private company that rented the space to merchants, smaller exhibitions, and recitals for income. The company was responsible for the building's availability when the National Trade Exhibition was held each November. In 1936, the original burned down in New Hadaway, and not more than four years thence the Themiclesian copy also burned down due to Menghean bombing on Jan. 2, 1940. The building was rebuilt in 1955 according to its former dimensions and roughly on the same site.
History
Ceremonial axis
The Sqin'-lang Palace is noted for its gradual but extensive remodelling centred on the Great Hall (大極殿), creating what has been called a "ceremonial axis" extending from the Great Hall southwards. The axis is composed by four "courts", numbered from south to north, each separated from the previous by a gate. There is increasing exclusivity from south to north, with the final court being dominated by the Great Hall itself, which is an indoor space that is sometimes written as a fifth court. In imperial audiences, individuals of various ranks occupy these areas according to their entitlements.
The First Court began at the Tlang-ghap Gate, which was inset into the curtain walls and topped by a pavilion built in the Menghean style, and ended at the South Carriage Gate. This was also known as the Grenadier's Court, as here the Royal Guard Grenadiers would have stood guard. However, the infantry regiments stationed to guard this gate has been released from this duty of little practical importance since the start of the Pan-Septentrion War.
The Second Court began after the South Carriage Gate and ended at the Sublime Gate and was divided perpendicularly into two halves. The southern half served as a driveway for visitors' vehicles. There is a raised platform that occupies the central portion of the court's northern half, permitting the passenger to step off easily.
Unlike Menghean dynasties which tended to move capital cities and therefore have opportunities to experiment with new palace plans, the Themiclesian state has been anchored politically to basically the same palace for many centuries, which made adaptation of existing buildings more economical. Owing also to its smaller exchequer, Themiclesian rulers were much less able to execute a complete palace plan in a single effort, so palaces were gradually added to, reflecting changing plans (if they did exist in the first place), priorities, and artistic tastes. The other "palaces" built elsewhere were more akin to villas than complete palaces in the Menghean sense.