Sino-Japan joint excavation of the Taiyechi Royal Garden site

Collaborative Institutions:
China: The Institute of Archaeology，Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Japan: Nara Research Institute for Cultural Properties

(Previous name: “Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties，Japan”)

Project Period: August, 2001～August, 2007. Six years (extended one year on the previous five-year agreement)

Project Schedule: 2001-2005, excavate the site;  2006-2007, write and publish the report

Project Deliverable: publish a comprehensive archaeological report.

Project Directors:
Chinese side: Professor Jiayao AN, Director of the Department of Han-Tang archaeology, IACASS
Japanese side: Director, Department of Heijo Palace Site Investigations

Excavations Completed:
Autumn, 2001: excavated at west shore of Taiyechi lake, investigating the stratigraphy and structures inside the lake and on the shore.
Spring, 2002:  took formal excavation at west shore of Taiyechi lake site and uncovered traces of a road, corridors, the building foundations and drainage ditches etc.
Autumn, 2002: continued to excavate at west shore of Taiyechi lake site, discovering traces of roads, corridors, house foundations, drainage ditches, and the water entrance.
Spring, 2003: uncovered the foundation of a large-scaled pile building in the gully between the northern shore of Taiyechi and the newly discovered island. And, some traces of artificial park scenery were exposed on the southern shore of Penali Island.
In the spring of 2004, a large-sized corridors and court complex were uncovered at the southern highland shore of Taiyechi lake-site.

Ongoing Excavation
In the spring of 2005, an excavation is undertaking at the south shore of Taiyechi Royal Garden site.

Interim Publications
1. Excavations of  the Taiyechi lake site in the Daminggong Palace of Tang Chang’an city, Kaogu (Archaeology), No.11, 2003.
2. New finds in the Excavation of the Taiyechi lake site in the Daminggong Palace of Tang Chang’an city, Kaogu (Archaeology), No.11, 2003.
3. An important periodical result was accomplished in the archaeological excavation of Taiyechi lake site of Daminggong Palace in Chang’an of Tang Dynasty. In Zhongguo wenwu bao (Newsletter of Chinese Cultural Relic), November 28 , 2003, front page.
4. The west shore site of Taiyechi lake in Daminggong Palace of Tang Dynasty. In Annals of Chinese Archaeology (2003), Press of Cultural Relic, 2004
5. Ruins of a large-sized corridor and Court complex discovered on the southern shore of Taiyechi lake-site in the Tang Daminggong Palace, Xi’an, Kaogu (Archaeology), No.9, 2004.   

Appendix
The Taiyechi Royal Garden of Daminggong Palace in Chang’an city, Tang Dynasty
Taiyechi Royal Garden locates in central rear part of Daminggong Palace of Chang’an, capital city of the Tang Dynasty. It is a compound structure consists of various garden buildings on the shore of the central Taiye lake. Its rank was the highest among all Tang Dynasty royal gardens and it had been used in the longest time in Tang Dynasty. It represents the highest architectural standards of the Tang Dynasty gardens. Therefore, it is doubtless an essential component is the study of the history of ancient Chinese architectures, gardens as well as the history of ancient Chinese cities. As an important component of Daminggong Palace, Taiyechi Lake Royal Garden site was selected as one of the national cultural heritages in 1961.
Daminggong Palace was first built in the 8th year of Zhenguan of the Emperor Taizong’s reign (634 A.D.). Late in the 2nd year of Longsuo (662 A.D.), Tang emperor Gaozong substantially enlarged it and completed the project in the year after. Gaozong then moved his court from the old palace Taijigong to this new palace.  Since then, the Daminggong Palace was occupied by all Tang emperors for over two hundred years until the end of the dynasty.
Taiyechi Lake Royal Garden site is located at the southwest of the Sunjiawan Village, Damingdong Township, the northern suburb of Xi’an City, Shaanxi Province. The lake was filled up to be a flat land. However, its shape is still visible. Moreover, the Penglai Island in the center of the lake still survives with a more than 5 meters high rammed-earth platform.
The result of archaeological coring indicates that the Taiyechi Lake consists of a west lake and an east lake.  The east lake is smaller with a shape of water drop, about 33,000 square meters.  Now it is under city buildings. The size of west lake is bigger with an oval shape, about 140,000 square meters.  Now it is a farmland.