CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

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