Twar Gate
Twar Gate (耑門, twar-men) is the south-facing gate of the Fore Hall Courtyard in the Sqin′-lang Palance. It is the oldest surviving primary building in that palace, dating from 493 CE.
History
Architecture
The gate itself is actually a hall of typical Themiclesian design, with both bront and rear completely open and supported by walls only on its sides. It stands on a raised dias about 1 m in height. It is supported by nine rows of columns on its wide side and five on its narrow side, for a total of 45 columns. These square columns rose to a height of 7.2 m at the eaves and 9 m at the ridge. The columns were periodically replaced as they cracked or succumbed to rot, with the oldest surviving column dating to the late 5th century CE. Due to their different date of finishing, some are noticeably wider than others; the girthiest column has a width of 89 cm, while the thinnest measures just 77 cm. Above the columns, a system of beams and ties support a hip roof that provides a covered area of 1,568 m². The side walls have a general thickness of about 2 m at the base and 1.2 m at the top and rise to meet the tie beams at the end of the building.
The central row of pillars is interposed by doorways.
Culture
Illumination
The Twar Gate was permanently illuminated throughout the day from a very early time, such that by the 8th century it was already called the Gate of the Flower of Light (光華門) or Very Bright Gate (大昜門). When the Western nations began to send permanent envoys to the Themiclesian court, the gate was named the Sublime Porte, as a reference to its glittering light in evenings. This state of ostentatious illumination, other than a statement of wealth, was also given the political meaning of preventing evils that may occur in darkness.
Within the gate building itself, lighting was achieved by oil lamps placed within shrouds of crystals, which caused the fire within to refract in all directions and protected it from wind and rain. Though these crystal bulbs periodically cracked and were replaced, some specimens survive from the 15th century, and they were evidently suspended from roof beams with brocade sashes. These bulbs were heavy, weighing 10 – 20 kg each. Organizational laws show that a department of the palace was in charge of keeping the lights lit throughout the night. These bulbs were also known to fall down from time to time, the occurrence of which was interpreted as an omen.
Beyond the gate, the plaza was usually lit by a grid pattern of standing lamps of cast brass, intended to be heavy enough to be impervious to being blown away. Unlike most brass implements allowed to oxidize, these were polished to a mirror finish at all times. The lamps were of a design that protected the flame from wind and rain; the shade could rotate to allow access to the flame. To maximize the luminosity of these lamps, the interior of the lamp was also regularly cleaned to encourage the light to reflect out of the lamp. The number of these lamps varied from time to time and in repsonse to the means of the royal court. In the 1500s, it is thought that over 4,000 lamps were in use, though some were eventually melted down to make cannons in the 1700s.
Receptions
From antiquity, the Twar Gate was the site where important guests were received at the imperial court. Most often, the received were diplomats from foreign states. According to the habit of the Themiclesian court, the reception ceremony was held just before astronomical dawn, when the illumination of the gate and the courtyard before it would have been most appreciable.
According to the envoy from Camia who arrived in 1710:
We arrived at the kyan-kang Palace, which had three Walls. My carriage was drive into the first thereof, and at the foot of the second we were caused to stop. About 4 o'clock, the Gate opened, and the carriage was walked slowly towards the third.