A study on the shape and design of Furong Imperial Garden and Qujiangchi Lake in the Chang’an of the Tang Dynasty

Abstract

According to the most of former researches about the Furong Imperial Garden and the Qujiangchi Lake in the Captial Chang’an of the Tang Dynasty, the Furong Lake of the Furong Imperial Garden and the Qujiangchi Lake were considered as the same one and located inside the Furong Imperial Garden. But a few researches based on the historical records written during the Tang Dynasty have proved that the Furong Lake and the Qujiangchi Lake were two different ones, the Furong Lake was located inside the Furong Imperial Garden, while the Qujiaingchi Lake was located outside of the imperial garden. This study focuses on the first half of 8th century, when was the prime of both the Furong Imperial Garden and the Qujiangchi Lake. Based on the former researches, it conducted source criticism by thoroughly comparing the poems, proses and books written during the Tang Dynasty with those related records written after time. Then it tried to sort out the records from which can deduce the concrete shape and landscape gardening techniques of the Furong Imperial Garden and the Qujiangchi lake. Furthermore, it integrated those records with related archeological investigation results and the remaining topography to approach the real picture of the Furong Imperial Garden and the Qujiangchi Lake from the view of landscape architecture. Eventually, this study derived the following conclusion. The Furong Lake was in the west part of the Furong Imperial Garden, and over 1700m long from north to south with a 600m maximum width from east to west, which had an irregular shape longer in south-north direction. On the other hand, the Qujiangchi Lake was located outside of the northwest of the Furong Imperial Garden , its east-west length and south-north length were not longer than 2773m and 556.5m respectively, and had winding shores forming an irregular shape, and also had several drops of different altitudes, whose area was surrounded by the north walls of Tongshan Block/Xiuzheng Block/Dunhua Block, the west walls of Xiuzheng Block/Tongshan Block/Quchi Block, the south walls of Tongshan Block/Quchi Block/nameless block, and the east walls of Dunhua Block/nameless block.